TNAG-1323-FCO40-1729-Future-of-Hong-Kong-visits-by-Chinese-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 15

THE SUBJECT CAME UP AFTER ZHOU AND HAD BOTH GONE AGROSS: (THOUGH SEPARATELY) FROM OUR TABLE TO THE TWO TABLES OCCUPIED BY THE VISITING DELGATION FROM HONG KONG. ON RETURIKING TO OUR TABLE, WITH ZHOU STILL ABSENT, I ASKED YOU WHETHER

YOU WOULD SEE ANYTHING WRONG IN MY SUGGESTING TO ZHOU THAT HE

MIGHT VISIT HONG KONG FORESTOO LONG.

YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD NOT. WHEN ZHOU RETURNED TO OUR TAGLE, I ASKED HIM WHEN HE HAD LAST BEEN IN HONG KONG. HE SAID

THAT HE HAD VISITED HONG KONG IN THE 1950S AND AGAIN

THE 1960' BUT THAT HE HAD NOT BEEN THERE FOR NEARLY

20 YEARS. THEN SUGGESTED THAT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA

H

FOR HIM TO GO AGAIN FAIRLY SOON. HE SAID THAT HE WOULD LIKE TO GO, BUT THEN COMMENTED THAT HE WOULD NEED AN INVITATION. YOU SAID

THAT THERE WOULD BE PROBLEM ABOUT THIS.

3. THE CONVERSATION ENDED AT THAT POINT. IN SUBSEQUENT DISCUSSION, YOU AND I AGREED THAT ANY INVITATION BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT

OR ANYONE IN IT) TO ZHOU WOULD BE (NEXT TWO WORDS UNDERLINED). SUI GENERIS. IT NEED NOT SET A PRECEDENT FOR THE ISSUE OF PHVITATIONS TO OTHERS IN THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ATTUAHO LEVEL OR ABOVE. WE ALSO AGREED, HOWEVER, THAT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD THING FOR ALL CONCERNED TO BEGIN THINKING ABOUT WHETHER SUCH INVITATIONS SHOULD BE ISSUED. YOU GAVE IT AS YOUR PERSONAL VIEW THAT THE INTITIALLING OF THE AGREEMENT DID. MOT MEAN THAT THERE NEED DE ANY CHANGE IN PRESENT POLICY: ¡E THAT NO INVITATIONS WERE ISSUED BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENTA BUT THAT APPROPRIATE COURTESIES AND FACILITIES WERE OFFERED BY THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT TO ALL MINISTERS AND SENIOR OFFICIALS OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WHO PASSED THROUGH, OR STOPPED OVER TN, HONG KONG ON THEIR WAY TO AND FROM OTHER PLACES.

4. AS FAR AS ZHOU IS CONCERNED, I AM SURE IT WOULD BE NOTICED AF NO INVITATION WERE NOW TO BE ISSUED. BUT DO NOT THINK THAT AN INVITATION NEED BE EXTENDED TO HIM BEFORE SIGNATURE (ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THIS TAKES PLACE).

5. AS FAR AS OTHERS ARE CONCERNED, I BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULD

CONSIDER WHETHER ANY MODIFICATION OF PRESENT

POLICY WOULD BE SENSIBLE AND APPROPRIATE, WHILE IT IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT TO AVOID DOING ANYTHING PREJUDICIAL TO THE THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN

40

CLOSED FOR

YEARS UNDER FOI EXEMPTION No... 2701).

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