RD1AFJ
HONG KONG
SECRET
The twelve years
1997 will be
of
responsible for
up to the
the transfer of Hong Kong to the Chinese in
the utmost delicacy. The United Kingdom will be
maintaining an effective administration in the
time encouraging development of a
territory, while at the s ame
higher degree of autonomy and democracy there. We will also be
engaged in negotiations with the Chinese in the Joint Liaison Group
and in the Land Commission established under the agreement.
Any injudicious release of documents in this period could complicate
our task in a number of ways.
Some documents could provoke the
Chinese into public reactions ог could reveal to them the likely
direction of our policy in the negotiations in the Joint Liaison Group or Land Commission. In Hong Kong public opinion is extremely
volatile, and any papers released casting doubt on Britain's
commitment to the territory ог suggesting that in the past we had ignored local advice could cause controversy.
It will therefore be necessary in the next twelve years to err on the side of caution in the release of papers on Hong Kong, and even
when it is not possible to prevent release, it is important that we
should inform the Hong Kong Government of likely controversial papers about to be released.
but they
deal of common
The following categories will be particularly sensitive,
are not exclusive (no list could be), and a good
good deal
sense will be needed.
Defence
1.
Follow standard practice for evacuation plans and flag for'
retention.
The following
should papers
be flagged
to for reference
the
Department:
2.
Possible abandonment of the territory.
SECRET
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