TNAG-1308-FCO40-1665-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 87

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SUMMARY RECORD OF MR LUCE'S MEETING WITH FCO OFFICIALS ON

HONG KONG:

5 MARCH 1984 AT 1130 HOURS

PRESENT:

Mr Luce, Minister of State

Sir P Cradock, DUSS

Dr Wilson, AUSS

Mr Burrows, Legal Advisers

Mr Clift, HKD

Mr Thomson, FED

Mr Walker, Research Dept

PS/Mr Luce

Mr Powell, HKD

04011

HKK 040/1

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

- 6 MAR 1984

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

JB1613

سنا

FUTURE OF HONG KONG

STRATEGY AND TIMETABLE

1. Mr Luce noted that the Governor had succeeded in convincing EXCO that we should proceed on the basis of the new paper on Strategy and Timetable. Sir Percy Cradock said that we should now move forward quickly and seek an informal meeting with the Chinese to explain the way we saw the timetable for the talks this year, and explain that we were working for a bilateral agreement. The Ambassador should explain the constraints we were working under, and the need to show that the agreement was acceptable in Hong Kong before it could be debated in Parliament. We should make it clear to the Chinese that a full parliamentary debate before the Summer recess was unlikely to be possible.

It was agreed that the Department would prepare a draft telegram to Peking.

NATIONALITY

2. It was agreed that we recommend that the OD (K) Meeting arranged for this week should be postponed. This had been called to discuss Nationality, but EXCO was meeting on Wednesday and it would be impracticable to hold an OD(K) meeting on Thursday. It was agreed that instead a paper would be circulated on

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