TNAG-1834-FCO40-2608-Sensitivity-review-of-Hong-Kong-Government-records-1988 — Page 41

CODE 18-77

ARZAGZ

Sensitivity Review Unit

CW360

SENSITIVITY REVIEW: HONG KONG

SECRET

Reference

MAN MATERNA SEREM TO

MKD 4441

RECE

AY

2¢ SEP 1988

MAFICER

K

Ηνι

1.

Please refer to your minute of 27 September.

There are a

number of points which I think argue that these papers should remain classified. In particular, with reference to (49):

(a) para 234: "the colony is quite unsuited for any form of self-government". Tends to undemake the autonomy we have negotiate with the Chinese.

(b) para 236: reference to Hong Kong as a listening post.

para 242: reference to "refugees (bring) reincorporated willy-nilly in the regime what they have fled".

(c)

(a) para 232: reference to joining the winning side in any emergency - could be played against us in 1997 context. And other references to struggle for allegence of population.

(e) para 246: notes "it must be accepted that in due course the colony must return to China, at least when the lease of the New Territories expires in 1997". This somewhat predates the conclusion we came to, relunctantly, in 1984.

2.

These all fall under para 2(a) of your minute.

29 September 1988

ARPanc

AR PAUL

Hong Kong Department WH306

270 2650

SECRET