TNAG-1330-FCO40-1757-Future-of-Hong-Kong-test-of-the-acceptability-of-the-Joint-D-1984 — Page 327

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other words, if the Assessment Office and the monitors found that a particular point was causing especial concern to the Hong Kong people. The Secretary of State explained that we would not expect to renegotiate the agreement but we would want to make sure that the provisions were fully explained to the people of Hong Kong. There would be some groups of MPs coming out to Hong Kong during the consultation period. They might well wish to make

contact with the two monitors. There was already a considerable sense of reality in the House of Commons about the kind of agreement which could be negotiated.

Sir Patrick Nairne said that there was one aspect of the problem which he wanted to discuss with the Secretary of State. This was whether the monitors were expected to do a purely 'bureaucratic job' (i.e. simply sit in the Assessment Office and read the same papers as the people in the Assessment Office) or whether they were expected to get about in Hong Kong and talk, for example, to the various district boards or to the media. It could be argued that if the monitors concluded that the Assessment Office had fulfilled its job, and were able to back this up by showing that they (the monitors) had contacted a wide range of people themselves in Hong Kong, this could be a very positive move. It might be helpful to Parliament.

The Secretary of State said that he saw the task of the monitors as basically to ensure that the Assessment Office carried out its present work properly and objectively without commenting on the actual assessment produced by the Assessment Office. In some senses it would be rather like the observers of the El Salvador elections who looked at the process but not the result. Sir Patrick Nairne said that he perfectly understood this, and (to put this in a nutshell) the monitors would be asked, if this was their view, to give a seal of good housekeeping to the Assessment Office. He would expect to keep in close contact with the Governor and the Hong Kong Government. Sir Patrick Nairne said that he fully appreciated the importance of the task which had been given to him and was keen to do it in the best possible way.

6 September 1984

cc:

PS/Mr Luce Mr Galsworthy

LV Appleyard

(L V Appleyard)

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