AUTUMN 1987
SECRET
10842
1
DESCRIBES EVOLVING STATE OF HONG KONG OPINION.
? AUTUMN
1987
VISIT TO BRITAIN BY WU XUEQIAN:
OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO FORESHADOW THEMES OF WHITE
PAPER.
DECEMBER 1987/
JANUARY 1988
? VISIT TO PEKING BY SECRETARY OF STATE
(DEPENDING ON LIKELY OUTCOME OF REVIEW).
DESCRIBES CONTENT OF WHITE PAPER.
HANDLING OF THE GREEN PAPER
19.
A PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT POINT FOR US TO DECIDE IS THE
NATURE OF OUR CONTACTS WITH THE CHINESE OVER THE GREEN (AND IN
DUE COURSE, THE WHITE) PAPER. THE CHINESE HAVE ASKED FOR ENOUGH
ADVANCE NOTICE QUOTE TO PERMIT STUDY UNQUOTE. IT WOULD BE
CONSISTENT WITH PAST PRACTICE (FOR EXAMPLE OVER THE WHITE PAPERS
PUBLISHED BY HMG AND THE HKG IN 1984) FOR US TO GIVE THE CHINESE
AN ADVANCE TEXT A SHORT TIME BEFORE PUBLICATION: BUT FORMAL
CONSULTATION ON THE BASIS OF A DRAFT WOULD LEAVE US OPEN TO
UNDESIRABLE PRESSURES.
THE FOLLOWING APPROACH MIGHT BEST RECONCILE OUR VARIOUS
OBJECTIVES:
20.
(I)
(II)
THE GENERAL THEMES TO BE COVERED IN THE GREEN PAPER, AND
THE APPROACH TO BE ADOPTED TO THE ISSUE OF THE
COMPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATURE, WOULD BE THOROUGHLY
EXPLAINED TO THE CHINESE OVER THE MONTHS IN ADVANCE OF
PUBLICATION. (THE POSSIBLE MEETINGS BETWEEN THE
SECRETARY OF STATE AND WU IN MARCH AND APRIL AND
DEMARCHES BY SIR R EVANS COULD ALL BE USED FOR THAT
PURPOSE.)
THE TREATMENT IN THE GREEN PAPER OF ELECTIONS TO THE
LEGISLATURE WOULD NEED PARTICULARLY CLOSE DISCUSSION.
THIS MIGHT BE ON THE BASIS OF A PAPER WHICH WOULD IN
EFFECT BE AN ADVANCE EXTRACT FROM THE DRAFT GREEN PAPER
4
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