GRS 4O. CONFIDENTINAL
FM UKMIS GENEVA
TO MMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 278
OF 22103OZ MAY 1986
Confidential
UNFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
NKKC (22//
RECEIVED IN NUDISTR
29 MAY 1986
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, NEW DELHI TOKYO OFFICER
INT.
....
REGISTRY Action Taken
OUR TELNO 274 AND YOUR TELNO 573 HONG KONG AND GATL
SUMMARY
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1. HONG KONG WAS WELCOMED AS A CONTRACTING PARTY (CP) AND A MEMBER
OF THE GATT COUNCIL. INDIA RESERVED TS GATT RIGHTS. NO OTHER CP
SPOKE.
DETAIL
2.
TRAN (COMMISSION), WHOM HAD WARNED OF INDIA'S INTENTIONS, PUT PRESSURE ON RANDHAWA (INDIA) TO POSTPONE POSSIBLE ACTION TO THE NEXT
GATT COUNCIL. WHEN # SPOKE TO RANDHAWA JUST BEFORE THE COUNCIL, HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAD NO FRESH INSTRUCTIONS BUT HIS INTERVENTION WOULD BE LOW-KEY. M: SAND THAT AF HE MUST SPEAK, IT WAS BETTER HE SHOULD DO SO WHEN AMBASSADOR PARK (COUNCIL CAHIRMAN, KOREA) WELCOMED HONG KONG, RATHER THAN UNDER AOB.
3. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COUNCIL, AND BEFORE ADDRESSING THE AGENDA, PARK DREW ATTENTION TO THE L DOCUMENTS, AND WELCOMED HONG
KONG. RANDHAWA THEN MADE HIS STATEMENT. THIS WAS MIN ACCORDANCE
WITH PARA 1, MY TUR, EXCEPT THAT HE SAID ANDA 'WILL REVERT TO
THE SUBJECT AGAMN.
4. PARK SAID THE COUNCIL TOOK NOTE OF THE HINDIAN STATEMENT AND
THEN, AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT, ADDED ''SO HONG KONG IS NOW A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL HT #'S SO AGREED'', AND UNEXPECEDLY BROUGHT DOWN THE
GAVEL. NO ONE ELSE SPOKE.
-
5. #KEDA (JAPAN) APPROACHED ME JUST BEFORE THE MEETING AND HANDED
ME THE FOLLOWING TEXT:
··1.
JAPAN WELCOMES THE FACT THAT HONG KONG HAS BECOME A GATT
CONTRACTING PARTY. THIS WOULD CERTAINLY ENHANCE HONG KONG'S STABLE
STATUS IN INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY.
2.
ON THE OTHER HAND, JAPAN WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE TO EXAMINE THE STATUS OF HONG KONG IN THE GATT, INCLUDING LEGAL ASPECTS, AFTER
JULY 1997 WHEN IT BECOMES A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF
CHINA.''
HE SAID THIS DEMARCHE WAS ALSO BEING MADE TO OUR AMBASSADOR HN
TOKYO, TO CHINA AND TO HONG KONG. THE SECOND POINT WAS BEING MADE
BILATERALLY AND JAPAN WOULD NOT REFER TO THIS IN THE COUNCIL.
Confidential
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