CONFIDENTIAL
FM PEKING
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 2022
OF 160724Z DECEMBER 88
CONFIDENTIAL
TOP COPY Q DIST ?
AMENDED DISTRIBUTION 16/12
INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
23.
073676
MDLIAN 2631
MKB 020/6
HONG KONG AND MACAO AFFAIRS OFFICE (MFA): GOSSIP.
1. AT A DINNER GIVEN BY RIORDAN TO INTRODUCE ANDREW PYNE TO MEMBERS OF THE HKMAO/MFA, COUNSELLOR SHI JICHENG (LIN ZHIYING'S SUCCESSOR), A NOTORIOUSLY OPEN INTERLOCUTOR, GAVE US THE FOLLOWING DETAILS:
A. NCNA.
SHI SAID THAT THE BUZZ HE HAD HEARD DURING HIS RECENT VISIT TO HONG KONG WAS THAT ZHOU NAN, ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM HIS POSITION AS VICE FOREIGN MINISTER, WOULD SUCCEED XU JIATUN AS HEAD OF NCNA IN HONG KONG. SHI ASKED WHETHER WE HAD HEARD THIS RUMOUR WE SAID THAT WE HAD NOT. (COMMENT: SHI, IN THE FEW MONTHS WE HAVE KNOWN HIM, HAS FREQUENTLY MADE INDISCREET COMMENTS TO US THE SUBSTANCE OF WHICH HAS GENERALLY BEEN RELIABLE).
B.
CHINESE JLG OFFICE AND PACE OF WORK.
SHI SAID THAT THE STAFF OF THE CHINESE JLG OFFICE IN HONG KONG, WHO OUTNUMBERED THE STAFF OF THE HONG KONG RELATED PART OF THE HKMAO, WERE SWAMPING THE HKMAO WITH REPORTS AND WORK GENERALLY. THE LATTER WERE FINDING IT HARD TO COPE. NOT ONLY WAS THERE A PROBLEM OF REDUCE MANPOWER IN THE HKMAO, BUT THERE FEW SENIOR STAFF (E.G. STILL NO SIGN OF SUCCEED WANG JIAJI AS DEPUTY DIRECTOR). EXPLAINS IN PART THE SLOWNESS WITH WHICH THE CHINESE SIDE HAVE SO FAR BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND TO AND ACT ON THE WEALTH OF INFORMATION WE HAVE PROVIDED THEM OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
ECVIIS.
WERE TOO MANY JUNIOR AND TOO ANYONE BEING APPOINTED TO (COMMENT: THIS PROBABLY
C. ZHAN YONGXIN, ONE OF THE HKMAO'S RECENT ECONOMICS GRADUATE RECRUITS, TOLD PIGOTT THAT MUCH OF HIS TIME LATELY HAD BEEN TAKEN UP IN EXAMINING THE VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE AND ECVII PROBLEM IN HONG KONG. THE HKMAO FULLY UNDERSTOOD THE PROBLEM AND HAD SPENT MUCH TIME DISCUSSING AND CONSIDERING IT. SOLVE THE LATEST PROBLEM WAS TO ECVIIS TO THE MAINLAND SO AS TO TRY TO LEAVE FOR HONG KONG.
THEY AGREED THAT THE BEST WAY TO HAVE AN EARLY RETURN OF A BATCH OF SET AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS WHO MIGHT UNSPECIFIED STEPS HAD BEEN SET IN TRAIN
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