TNAG-1443-FCO40-1927-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 10

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between the two

I

as Vienna).

travel to Japan

Britain, or at least with a meeting

Ministers in a European capital (such

understand that the Secretary of State may

in the first part of next year,

next year, perhaps at Whitsun. This

would provide a good opportunity, and favourable timing,

for a stopover in Peking. Later in the year there will

probably be the

customary meeting at the General Assembly

in September.

6.

This timing must be considered against the timetable

for the review of representative government in Hong Kong.

A Green Paper will be published in April or May 1987, and a

White Paper before the end of the year. We shall certainly

wish to explain to the Chinese in advance of publication of

the Green Paper (though not necessarily on a ministerial

channel) how issues are to be presented. Later in the year

we shall no doubt want to explain to the Chinese how the

review exercise is turning out and what we envisage will

have to be put into the White Paper.

If there are

potential problems over direct elections there may well be

a need for direct contact between the Secretary of State

and Wu.

This could well mean a visit to Peking: or Wu's

visit to Britain could be opportune.

7.

is

Another possible Ministerial channel

that between

Mr Renton and Zhou Nan.

There are plans for Mr Renton to

visit Hong Kong next Spring, and he could go on to Peking.

But at present is is not clear that issues will be ripe at

that stage for Ministerial discussion, and Zhou's personal

intransigence over the issues involved

is a further

negative factor.

b) Travel by the Governor to Peking

8.

The

Governor suggests that three-monthly visits to

Peking (in fact in March, June and October) would keep open

a useful channel of communication for discussion of a

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