TNAG-1332-FCO40-1762-Future-of-Hong-Kong-White-Paper-on-the-Joint-Declaration-1984 — Page 111

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RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

17 SEP 1984

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Action Taken

AEGISTRY

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GPS 370

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DESKBY 150900Z FCO AND HONG KONG

FROM PEKING 1507212 SEP 84

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 2358 OF 13 SEPTEMBER

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

62

YOUR TELNOS 1827 AND U/N: FUTURE OF HONG KONG: WHITE PAPER.

1. I HAVE THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS ON THE REVISED TEXT IN

SECOND TUR.

(A)

1 NOTE YOUR LEGAL ADVISERS VIEW THAT THE JOINT DECLARATION

**INCLUDES THE THREE ANNEXES' PARAGRAPH 2(A) OF FIRST TUR. I

HAVE DISCUSSED THIS POINT FURTHER WITH BURROWS AND WILSON.

THE LANGUAGE OF PARAGRAPHS 7 AND 8 OF THE JOINT DECLARATION,

AGREED DURING YOUR VISIT, LEAVES IT OPEN TO THE CHINESE, OR .

CTHERS, TO ARGUE, (ALTHOUGH THE CONTRARY IS OF COURSE ALSO

ARGUABLE) THAT THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE ANNEXES ARE SEPARATE

DOCUMENTS WHICH ARE EQUALLY FINDING. IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES WE

SHOULD BE UNABLE CLEARLY TO REFUTE THIS ARGUMENT BY

POINITING TO ANYTHING IN THE JOINT DECLARATION CORRESPONDING

TO THE CLAUSE WHICH COMMONLY APPEARS IN INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

TO THE EFFECT THAT THE ANNEXES TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE AN

INTEGRAL PART THEREOF. IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES I CONTINUE

TO BELIEVE THAT IT WOULD BE SAFER FOR REFERENCES IN THE WHITE

PAPER (E.G. IN PARAGRAPHS 1 AND 19) TO BE TO A JOINT DECLARATION

AND ITS ANNEXES.

(ૐ) PARAGRAPH 4: I SUGGEST THAT THE REFERENCE TO MACAU BE

DELETED AND THE FIRST SENTENCE TO BE REDRAFTED TO READ AS

FOLLOWS:

IT WAS THAT HONG KONG BELONGED TO THE

CATEGORY OF UNEQUAL TREATIES LEFT OVER BY HISTORY:

THAT THE QUESTION OF HONG KONG SHOULD BE SETTLED

PEACEFULLY THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS WHEN CONDITIONS WERE RIPE:....

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