TNAG-1471-FCO40-2001-Ministerial-visits-from-the-UK-to-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 4

PA Vizit

66

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7876

ZCZC

OCMIAN 7876

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OO PEKIN

FM FCOLN TO PEKIN

151800Z JAN

GRS 869

нак RECEIVEL

HKK 027/5

TRY

17 JAN 1986

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FM FCO

TO IMMEDIATE PEKING

TELNO 49

OF 15180OZ JANUARY 86

FOR INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG

-NIT

YOUR TELNO 26: MR RENTON'S VISIT: SPEECHES

1. THANK YOU FOR THIS DRAFT. FOLLOWING IS SLIGHTLY EXPANDED

TEXT AGREED BY MR RENTON.

BEGINS

THANK YOU FOR WORDS OF WELCOME, SPLENDID BANQUET.

THIS EVENING A

FINE START TO INSTRUCTIVE AND ENTERTAINING TRAVELS WHICH WILL INCLUDE SHANGHAI, GUANGZHOU AND SHENZHEN OF YOU AND YOUR HOSPITALITY, MR VICE-MINISTER, I CAN ONLY ECHO WHAT CHAUCER WROTE

SOME 600 YEARS AGO:

'OUR HOST GAVE US A GREAT WELCOME: EVERYONE WAS GIVEN A PLACE AND SUPPER WAS BEGUN.

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HE SERVED THE FINEST VICTUALS YOU COULD THINK, THE WINE WAS STRONG AND WE WERE GLAD TO DRINK. DELIGHTED TO BE IN CHINA: MANY PEOPLE AT HOME WILL ENVY MY GOOD FORTUNE. ENORMOUS INTEREST, GOODWILL AMONG PEOPLE OF BRITAIN TOWARDS YOUR COUNTRY. REFLECTED IN REMARKABLE RECENT EXPANSION

SINCE MY OF CONTACTS, COOPERATION AND EXCHANGES. RESPONSIBILITIES IN FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE CHANGED LAST OCTOBER TO INCLUDE CHINA, ONE OF MY HIGHEST PRIORITIES TO COME

GLAD TO BE ABLE TO DO HERE, CONTRIBUTE DIRECTLY TO THIS PROCESS.

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