Mr Hum, HKD
HKK ON!
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
17 NO 1986
OFFICER
PA
REGISTRY
Action TakČUJ
rafa
12/4
Eu- oule
Cr
499
471
Hong Kong:
Exchanges with the Chinese
The Secretary of State has read your submission of 5 November about exchanges with the Chinese on Hong Kong.
He does not think it would be wise for the Governor to over-do his visits to Peking. He would run the risk of looking like a provincial governor going to the imperial capital to receive edicts. He therefore agrees that a second visit during the year ought to be enough.
He does not agree that we should wait until 1988 before inviting Zhou Nan to Hong Kong. His own view is that he cannot reasonably go through another interview with him without inviting him to visit the territory. He recognises that there are hazards: but he does not think that the hazards are very much greater than those involved in any other high level Chinese visit, and he does not believe that it is likely to be any easier to face them in 1988 He therefore continues to believe that" Zhou Nan should be invited soon to visit Hong Kong, preferably on a suitable pretext, for instance as part of a longer overseas tript
On Wu Xueqian, he believes that it would be better if Wu could be encouraged to visit the UK in the first half of next year.
The indications from the Western European Department of the MFA in Peking are precisely what one would expect: they could be expected to see the difficulties.
I do not think that we need be discouraged from trying to convince Wu of the advantages of an earlier visit. The Secretary of State's trip to Japan is still pretty hypothetical but he would not rule out passing via Peking.
7 November 1986
CC: PS/Mr Renton
PS/PUS
Dr Wilson
Mr Masefield, FED
(A C Galsworthy)
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