TNAG-1330-FCO40-1757-Future-of-Hong-Kong-test-of-the-acceptability-of-the-Joint-D-1984 — Page 9

CONFIDENTIAL

Constituencies on Friday, so that they can study it before the

debate on the agreement in the following week.

4.

Hong Kong have now agreed to let us have the final reports 24

hours earlier, on the morning of Monday 26 November. This should

allow us to publish the White Paper at 1100 hours on Thursday 29 November (1900 hours Hong Kong time). Hong Kong would have preferred publication at 0900 hours on that date, but the printers

do not believe that this will be possible. Publication at 1100 hours will still give Hong Kong time to get copies to the newspapers on 29 November. It will also give us the opportunity to lay copies before the House and send copies to opposition leaders slightly in advance of publication. The attached note shows the proposed

schedule.

5. We will soon be pressed on the date of publication of the White

Paper. There would be advantages in making an early announcement. However the time scale on which the printers are working is very

tight indeed. We may conceivably have to delay publication if the reports do not reach us on time from Hong Kong. Fog at Heathrow

could easily cause our schedule to slip by a day. In view of this I

recommend that we only announce the date of publication of the White

Paper in reply to an inspired PQ to be answered on 27 November and

published on 28 November. We could use the same opportunity to

inform the House that the submissions made by organisations to the

Assessment Office will be laid in the Library of the House on the

same day. In the meantime we should take the line in

response to

questions that the White Paper will be published before the debate,

but that a date for publication has not yet been fixed.

20 November 1984

сбонит

CO Hum

Hong Kong Department

CONFIDENTIAL