TNAG-1373-FCO40-1819-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 100

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individuals

like

certainly funded by

and organisations with close

connections with the PRC. They are rumoured to have powerful

supporters in Peking and rivalry between CAAC, who would

CPA to be the only Hong Kong carrier into China, and

Dragonair's supporters could have been one of the reasons for

the unsatisfactory conclusion to the first round of Air Service

talks. Dragonair would like to operate scheduled services

between Hong Kong and China but cannot be designated to do so

as British airline because they do not meet the requirement in the existing Sino-British ASA of being substantially owned

and effectively controlled by British nationals.

Unscrambling Air Services Agreements

5.

The Civil Aviation section of the Hong Kong Agreement

provides for the Government of

of the People's Republic of China

after 1997 to delegate to the SAR Government the right to renew

ог amend existing ASAS and negotiate new ASAs involving

services to and from Hong Kong. As part of the preparations

for 1997 we need to unscramble about 20 ASAs between the UK and

other

countries which cover services between those countries and

Hong Kong in such a way that services to and from Hong Kong appear in new agreements separate from those involving services to and from the UK. For sovereignty reasons the Chinese would

not accept, after 1997, that Hong Kong should operate services deriving from agreements signed by the UK. We have started talks with the Australians to this end. Australia was chosen

as the first candidate for these negotiations because of

helpful support which they have given at a political level the Joint Declaration and because the ASA in question is a

relatively simple one to "unscramble".

6.

have

the

to

The Australians have however indicated that they are nervous about signing an agreement with Hong Kong unless they

this. to objection no

or they should approach the Chinese

We have sought to

the

can be certain that the Chinese

They have proposed that we

to check this

point.

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reassure