TNAG-1442-FCO40-1926-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 183

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FROM: D C Wilson

Inesday DATE: 28 July 1986

Minister II have not net

PS/Mr Fenton

EMILY LAU

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Emily Lau spent some 75 minutes with me on 26 July.

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She started by referring to her conversation with Mr Renton. The Minister had told her to check a possible article paragraph with me. She then read a rough draft in which the main points

were: the British Government did not want the Chinese to be

taken by surprise by the 1987 Review; they had given the Chinese a range of options for what would appear in the Review; and they had said they hoped the Chinese would take account of these

options in their draft of the Basic Law.

3. I told Miss Lau that a paragraph on those lines would be

both inaccurate and misleading. In informal discussions with

the Chinese over a longish period of time we had impressed on them that there was a firm commitment for the 1987 Review to go ahead; that it would have to be a real review; and that it

would have to deal with all the items laid down for the Review

in the 1984 White Paper, including the question of direct elections. We had not given them a range of options of what might appear in the 1987 Review. To say so would not only be

inaccurate: it would imply that we were giving the Chinese a

veto over the 1987 Review. That was not the case. As to

Car Nandy hoping that the Chinese would consider the same range of options

In

in their draft of the Basic Law, the reality was that we were both, simultaneously, consulting opinion in Hong Kong. theory at least we should both be getting similar responses. We had made the Chinese aware of the different approaches to the question of direct elections which were being floated by people in Hong Kong; but this was really otiose since they

were well aware of the fact themselves.

4. After a good deal of discussion on this and other matters, Miss Lau redrafted her paragraph to the effect that the British Government had, in informal contact, impressed on the Chinese the fact that the 1987 Review would go ahead as planned and that it would cover the subjects listed in the 1984 White

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