TNAG-1602-FCO40-2198-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1987 — Page 56

GRS 1000

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO DESKBY 21100OZ FCO

TELNO 1519

OF 20043OZ APRIL 87

CONFIDENTIAL

1 HKB 011/3

AND TO DESKBY 20100OZ BANGKOK

INFO DESKBY 21010OZ PEKING

22 APR 1987

188

see 19cı

BANGKOK FOR SECRETARY OF STATE'S PARTY

MIPT : DENG XIAOPING'S ADDRESS TO BASIC LAW DRAFTERS : COMMENT

1. WE HAVE NOT YET BEEN ABLE TO DE-BRIEF ANYONE WHO WAS AT THE

MEETING WITH DENG. THE FOLLOWING PRELIMINARY COMMENTS ARE INTENDED

AS BACKGROUND FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S TALKS WITH WU XUEQIAN ON

21 APRIL REPORTING DENG'S REMARKS FROM HERE ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT

WE HAVE A FULLER TEXT THAN IS AVAILABLE TO PEKING.

GENERAL

2.

DENG SPOKE WITH CHARACTERISTIC FORTHRIGHTNESS BOTH ON THE OVER-

ALL CHINESE SCENE AND ON THE HONG KONG QUESTION. APART FROM THE

MENTION OF THE POSSIBLE CONTINUATION OF ''ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS. FOR A FURTHER 50 YEARS AFTER 2047, HE MADE NO NEW PRONOUNCEMENT, BUT HE EMPHASISED IN HIS PRAGMATIC AND HARD-HITTING STYLE A NUMBER OF

POLICY LINES WHICH WERE ALREADY APPARENT. CHARACTERISTICALLY, THE RECORD AS PUBLISHED, LEAVES ROOM FOR ARGUMENT ABOUT WHAT DENG ACTUALLY MEANT (EG. IN REFERRING TO ''UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE'') ALTHOUGH

THE GENERAL IMPORT IS CLEAR.

3. THE POINT WHICH HAS ATTRACTED MOST ATTENTION HERE (IN ADDITION

TO THE IMPLICATIONS FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS, SEE PARAGRAPH 5 BELOW)

WAS DENG'S REMINDER THAT HONG KONG'S FUTURE IS INEXTRICABLY BOUND

TO CHINA'S AND THAT AUTONOMY WAS IN THE GIFT OF THE CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT, NOT A NATURAL RIGHT. HIS REFERENCES TO PATRIOTISM**

AS THE FIRST CRITERION FOR THE FUTURE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE S.A.R.,

AND HIS WARNING THAT INTERVENTION BY PEKING WAS NOT TO BE RULED OUT,

WERE CLEAR WARNING SHOTS ACROSS THE BOWS OF THE BLDC MEMBERS.

4. THE SPEECH WAS BY NO MEANS ALL NEGATIVE. DENG MADE CLEAR THAT,

WITHIN THE LIMITS OF A ''REALISTIC'' RELATIONSHIP, HE SAW SCOPE

FOR WIDE AND LASTING AUTONOMY. BUT THE PROBLEM WITH PRONOUNCEMENTS

OF THIS SORT IS NOT THAT THEY REVEAL NEW POLICIES. IT IS THAT THEIR

PRESENTATION AND EMPHASIS IS LIKELY TO REVIVE SUSPICIONS IN HONG KONG

THAT THE CHINESE ARE LOOKING FOR EXCUSES TO INTERVENE (ALTHOUGH

DENG WOULD ARGUE THAT HE IS SEEKING MERELY TO ENSURE THAT INTERVEN-

TION WILL NOT BE NECESSARY),

CONFIDENTIAL

/DIRECT