GRS 530
CONFIDENTIAL
DD 17120OZ, BOTH
FROM PEKING 17112OZ MAY 85
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
'
CONFIDENTIAL
TELEGRAM NUMBER 747 OF 17/5/85
(03 HKK0W/12
TOP COPKLANK
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
101
102
YOUR TEL NO 447 AND MY TELNO 744: HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
RATIFICATION
1 I CALLED ON ZHOU THIS AFTERNOON TO ACT ON YOUR TUR.
SMITH WAS WITH ME.
2. ON THE DATE FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INSTRUMENTS OF RATIFICATION, ZHOU SAID THAT THE CHINESE SIDE COULD AGREE TO 27 MAY. HE UNDERTOOK TO STUDY THE DRAFT ANNOUNCEMENT I HAD GIVEN HIM (PARAGRAPH 2 OF YOUR TUR) AND LET US HAVE CHINESE REACTIONS TO IT. (HE LATER INDICATED THAT HE MAY BE ABLE
TO DO THIS TOMORROW).
HE SAID THAT, ONCE AGREEMENT HAD BEEN REACHED ON THE TEXT, WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSIDER THE FORM AND TIMING OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT. WOULD WE PREFER IT A WEEK IN ADVANCE OF RATIFICATION OR A LITTLE LATER? I SAID WE WOULD PREFER
IT TO BE EARLIER, TO ALLOW JOURNALISTS (PARTICULARLY THOSE FROM HONG KONG) WHO MIGHT LIKE TO ATTEND TO MAKE THE NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS. A WEEK IN ADVANCE SEEMED SENSIBLE.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT COULD BE MADE SIMULTANEOUSLY IN PEKING AND LONDON. ZHOU INDICATED THAT ON THE CHINESE SIDE IT WOULD PROBABLY BE MADE BY THE MFA SPOKESMAN.
3. ZHOU SAID THAT THE CHINESE WERE THINKING TENTATIVELY
OF 9 OR 10 MA FOR THE CEREMONY.
IT HAD NOT YET BEEN DECIDED WHETHER IT WOULD TAKE PLACE
IN THE GREAT HALL OF THE PEOPLE OR THE DIAOYUTAI (CONTRARY
TO THEIR EARLIER SUGGESTION THAT IT WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THE MFA: SMITH'S TELELETTER OF 18 APRIL TO POWELL, HKD)..
ZHOU SAID IT WAS POSSIBLE, BUT NOT YET CERTAIN, THAT BOTH
JI PENGFEI AND WU XUEQIAN WOULD ATTEND THE CEREMONY.
CONFIDENTIAL
ITO.
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