TNAG-1310-FCO40-1667-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 155

CODE 18-77

Reference.....

+ik kodol!

3 MAY 1984

DEX OFFI

INDEX

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr Him chip w/264/5

M

рагиз 3 собі

$27/14.

FROM: K C Walker

Asian Region

་

Pa

M

Research Department OAB 2/125 273 3502

DATE: 26 April 1984

CC:

Mr Powell, HKD

Mr Williams, PUSD

Mr Hall, RD

Mr Astley, Security Dept

Mr Ashton

FED

MEETING WITH COUNSELLOR OF THE CHINESE EMBASSY

1. I mentioned on the telephone that Zheng Yaowen had asked to call on me. He duly did so today.

2. As you suggested, I asked for his views on the time-frame for implementation of the consular agreement. He gave the impression that there was no particular hurry on the Chinese side to establish their Consulate in Manchester. He said that the Embassy awaited a decision from Peking on the date when the Chinese should aim to open the Consulate, and he expected that it would take a considerable time to find suitable premises. On the question of availability of premises for the British Consulate in Shanghai he said merely that this was a question for the Shanghai authorities.

3.

Zheng commented that the Secretary of State's visit had gone very well. On Hong Kong, he said that Chinese officials dealing with this subject were under pressure from people of authority in Peking who kept on asking why it was taking so long to achieve an agreement. I did not offer any comment on this point.

4. Zheng referred to the problem of press reporting, as illustrated by the wide publicity given by British papers to the report of the removal of Deng Liqun (Head of the Chinese Communist Party Propaganda Department) but the same papers' failure to report the official Chinese denial of the report. I commented that rather a long time had elapsed between the first appearance of the report and the denial, and in the meantime the report had gained credibility. Zheng said he did not know why it had taken so long for the denial to be forthcoming. Also on the subject of the media, Zheng said that two members of the Embassy had recently visited Northern Ireland and found the situation mainly calm and orderly, contrary to the impression given by press and television coverage.

CONFIDENTIAL

/5.