TNAG-1308-FCO40-1665-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 11

CODE 18-77

Mr Alan Butler, Parliamentary Unit

SECRET

Reference

225

Per

FUTURE OF HONG KONG:

BRIEFING THE CHINESE ON PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE

1. You will see from the attached minute that the Chinese Embassy here are painfully ignorant of British parliamentary procedure in handling agreements signed by the Government.

2. I should be grateful if you could let me have a speaking note, sprinkled liberally with previous precedents, that we could use with the Chinese Embassy to explain the usual parliamentary procedure. We are anxious to convince them that we cannot sign an agreement without a debate in Parliament. I imagine that the research into precedents you kindly under- took for us last week will provide a basis for this.

HKK040/1

20 March 1984

Vonathan Rall

7 CM/3 JN POWELL

CM2013

Hong Kong Department

see 247)