TNAG-1636-FCO40-2252-Visits-by-FCO-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 64

T

3.

CONFIDENTIAL

The lead times are such that we should not long

delay decisions about the establishment of the Post.

particular:-

(i)

In

we shall have to secure the agreement of the

Chinese Government for any arrangements we make:

if they thought these arrangements unsuitable they

could make an issue of them before 1997 and

frustrate them after that date. Moreover the

change of sovereignty raises specific problems

relating to land titles (see paragraph 10). We

shall also have to secure the agreement of the

Hong Kong Government, particularly if the

acquisition of land is involved.

All these

considerations point to fundamental decisions

being taken as early as possible;

Omit

J5Sh

(ii)

On the

there could be practical and financial advantage

in centralising the various activities of HMG in

Hong Kong some time before 30 June 1997.

other hand, the principal difficulty of attempting

to do so is the uncertainty we face in assessing

accurately the future scale of activity in certain

fields, notably in passport/immigration matters.

The principal activities concerned are those of

the British Trade Commission, the Joint Liaison

Group office to be set up in 1988 which will

continue until 2000 (but see paragraph 12 below),

the passport/immigration functions carried out on

our behalf at present by the Immigration

CONFIDENTIAL