TNAG-1622-FCO40-2236-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1987 — Page 216

CONFIDENTIAL

7. The surprise with which the west (and indeed most

Chinese) greeted the resignation of Hu Yaobang reflects

in part mistaken perceptions of Deng Xiaoping based on wishful thinking. Deng remains the most powerful, though

not omnipotent, personality in China, but many, led

particularly by the Western media, have assumed that Deng's readiness to devolve economic responsibility to lower levels will be matched by a willingness to devolve political power. But Deng was one of the leaders of the "anti-right" movement in 1957, and was a committed

supporter of Mao up until the new radicalism of the

Cultural Revolution in 1966. His bitter experience

during the Cultural Revolution may indeed make him more

tolerant towards dissident voices, as Sir R. Evans

suggests, but it will also have taught him that the

populace cannot be relied on. His biggest fear, shared

with all Chinese emperors before him, is of the chaos

brought about by weak government. For him, democracy is government for the people perhaps with some consultation

of the people, but not government by the people. In

this, he has always been consistent.

Chinese External Relations

8. China has made considerably more progress on the

international front. She has moved a very long way from

the foreign policy of splendid isolation typical of the

sixties to a pragmatic, internationalist approach under

Deng. She now seeks a stable international

environment to allow her to pursue her domestic

modernisation aims, and has surprisingly good relations with countries round the world, with very few exceptions

(India and Vietnam). The campaign against bourgeois

FC4AAK

CONFIDENTIAL