TNAG-1744-FCO40-2463-Visits-by-FCO-officials-to-Hong-Kong--including-visit-by-Lor-1988 — Page 71

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CONFIDENTIAL

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15 JUN 1988

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Hong Kong Departmenta

DATE:

15 June 1988

CC:

Mr Gillmore

Mr McLaren

Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers

VISIT OF LORD GLENARTHUR TO HONG KONG: 29 JUNE-1 JULY: BRIEFING

1.

I owe you a word of explanation about the briefing for the visit which we submitted yesterday evening.

2.

The briefing is complete, with the following exceptions:

(i) I attach Annex C to the Steering Brief, which is the

scene-setting telegram sent by the Governor before the Secretary of State's visit last month. Most of this is still quite relevant as an impression of the mood in Hong Kong. We have not at present commissioned a new scene-setting telegram. The virtue of such an exercise lies in its immediacy, and in the last few days before his arrival in Hong Kong the Minister will be out of touch in remotest China. I suggest that the last minute scene-setting can probably best be done orally by the Governor after Lord Glenarthur arrives in the territory;

(ii)

we have not yet tried to insert in Brief No 6 on representative government any speaking note on the first SAR Government. As you will know, I have submitted to the Secretary of State on the line to be taken in a series of contacts with the Chinese in the last week of June. In the light of Ministers' response we shall first need to review the speaking note on the subject for Lord Glenarthur's use with Vice-Minister Zhou Nan in Peking. The speaking note for Hong Kong will need to take into account both the line deployed with Zhou Nan and the outcome of that encounter. propose to prepare a speaking note much nearer the time and

I

CONFIDENTIAL