TNAG-1263-FCO40-1606-Parliamentary-contacts-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 26

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PS/Mr Luce

A 1.

CONFIDENTIAL

File

(81)

CC:

FROM:

DATE:

R D CLIFT

21 December 1983

Mr Donald

Mr Thomson FED

MR HAL MILLER MP

Your minute of 15 December asked for advice on how Mr Luce

should respond to the suggestion put to Mr Miller that the

Hong Kong representative of the New China News Agency (NCNA) had

full authority to conduct negotiations on behalf of the

Chinese Government.

c (78) 2.

We have consulted Hong Kong and Peking on this. Both are

sceptical that the Chinese have given Xu Jiatun any authority

to conduct formal or informal negotiations with ourselves. He

has himself displayed no interest in this and there has been

evidence that he is at times out of touch with events in Peking.

The Governor would in any case not wish to build up Xu's

position by involving him in this way.

3.

I agree with these views. I recommend that Mr Luce should

tell Mr Miller that we doubt if there is any substance in these

proposals and that we would in any case not wish to encourage

them FED concur.

#

THICK 040/16

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? 2 DEL 1983

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PA

Arion Taker.

21 December 1983

CONFIDENTIAL

R D Clift

Hong Kong Department