CONFIDENTIAL
DSR 11C
force of the agreement (before 30 June 1985). It will
meet in Peking, London and Hong Kong, at
at least once in
each location each year. (We would expect each meeting
to last a matter of days rather than weeks).
July 1988 it will be entirely peripatetic:
Until 1
thereafter it
will have its principal base in Hong Kong. Each side
will designate five members of the Group and may send up
to 20 supporting staff.
Paragraph 10 of the Annex
provides that full members of the Group shall enjoy
diplomatic privileges and immunities as appropriate when
in the three locations.
3. The terms of reference of the Joint Liaison Group
were negotiated with the Chinese Government during the
visit to Peking undertaken by the Foreign and
Commonwealth Secretary in July 1984. It was part of an
overall deal that had to be concluded on the spot. For
these practical reasons it was not possible to consult
the Committee at that stage.
4. The Joint Liaison Group will be engaged in diplomatic
activity which in other circumstances might have been
carried out through Embassies.
its members will be diplomats.
Most, if not all of
Given the continuing
and self-contained nature of the Group's work, its
peripatetic nature, and the absence of a Chinese Embassy
in Hong Kong where the Group will come to rest in 1988,
use of existing diplomatic channels will not be
practicable. For these reasons it is considered quite
appropriate that full diplomatic privileges and
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.