SECRET
BRIEFING FOR MR HEALEY ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE
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POINTS TO MAKE
1.
2.
Stress confidentiality.
Recall Prime Minister's visit to Peking, September 1982.
Agreement on meetings through diplomatic channel. Common aim
of maintaining stability and prosperity.
3.
Meetings between Sir P Cradock and Chinese MFA began
19820
in October Limited at first to procedural matters because of
Chinese insistence on premise of recognition of sovereignty.
4.
Sovereignty key point. We are not inflexible. Prime
Minister sent a message to Premier Zhao in the spring in which
M
she made it clear that the question of sovereignty was not
in the Government's gift and that Parliament alone had the power
to decide on this. If satisfactory arrangements for Hong Kong's
administration could be agreed, recommendations would be put
"1
to Parliament on the sovereignty question. Without giving anything
away this helped to get talks going on a more detailed and
substantive basis. Agenda agreed for second phase which involved
the Governor's participation. Two sessions in July and one on
2/3 August.
5.
Adjourned for recess until late September.
Problem of achieving satisfactory practical arrangements.
Chinese have taken a firm line, maintaining need not only to
recover sovereignty by 1997 but to demonstrate that they will
exercise it. But our main objective to retain Hong Kong's
freedom and way of life. Continuation of present system would
be best way of achieving this. Key lies not in 'British
administration' in
incolonial
olonial sense but in link with London as
SECRET
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