TNAG-1388-FCO40-1859-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Sino-British-Joint-Declaration-1985 — Page 88

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CONFIDENTIAL

CONFIDENTIAL

FM UKMIS NEW YORK 22230OZ MAY 85

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 408 OF 22 MAY 1985

INFO PRIORITY PEKING, HONG KONG.

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MY TELNO 397 : REGISTRATION OF THE HONG KONG AGREEMENT AT THE UN

1. FOLLOWING FIRST PRELIMINARY CONTACTS WITH THE CHINESE MISSION

AT JUNIOR LEVEL AND FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH THE SECRETARIAT,

SE SURMISE THAT THE WORDING USED IN THE CHINESE MISSION'S

ORIGINAL INSTRUCTIONS WAS AMBIGUOUS AND COULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO

MEAN EITHER **JOINT OR ELSE ''SIMULTANEOUS''. SINCE THEN THERE

SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN FURTHER CLARIFICATION FROM PEKING. AS A RESULT WE ARE NOW REASONABLY CONFIDENT THAT THE CHINESE WILL ACCEPT THE IDEA THAT THE TWO SEPARATE INSTRUMENTS OF RATIFICATION SHOULD

BE HANDED OVER SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A LITTLE CEREMONY IN WHICH THE ACTORS WOULD BE THE UN LEGAL COUNSEL AND SUITABLY SENIOR PERSONAGES

FROM EACH OF THE TWO MISSIONS. THE SECRETARIAT WOULD THEN BY

AGREEMENT RECORD IN ITS MONTHLY STATEMENT THAT THE HONG KONG

AGREEMENT HAD BEEN REGISTERED EITHER BY THE GOVERNMENTS OF CHINA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OR FAILING THAT BY THE GOVERNMENT

OF CHINA AND BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM''.

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2. ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THE ABOVE WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE TO YOU, IT WOULD BE AS WELL FOR THE GROUND TO BE FINALLY CLEARED, THOUGH NOT NECESSARILY IN A VERY FORMAL WAY, WITH THE APPROPRIATE CHINESE OFFICIALS IN PEKING. IN ORDER TO AVOID COMPLICATIONS, IT WOULD ALSO BE USEFUL FOR US TO HAVE CONFIRMATION THAT BOTH SIDES WILL BE REGISTERING EXACTLY THE SAME DOCUMENTS, NAMELY THE JOINT DECLARATION ITSELF AND ANNEXES 1, 11 AND III (SINCE THESE ARE REFERRED TO IN ARTICLES 7 AND 8 OF THE JOINT DECLARATION), BUT NOT (NOT) THE TWO MEMORANDA REFERRED TO IN YOUR TELNO 146 OR THE EXPLANATORY NOTE. IT IS STILL NOT (NOT) CLEAR TO US WHETHER THE CHINESE, NOW THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED THE FIRST BUNDLE OF FIVE AGREEMENTS REFERRED TO IN MY TELNO 348, ALSO INTEND THE HONG KONG AGREEMENT TO BE REGISTERED AS PART OF A BUNDLE. WHILE THIS WOULD COMPLICATE MATTERS SLIGHTYL, WE SEE NO (NO) REASON WHY IT SHOULD AFFECT THE TERMS IN WHICH THE SECRETARIAT WILL RECORD THE REGISTRATION AS IN

PARAGRAPH 1 ABOVE.

CONFIDENTIAL

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