TNAG-1847-FCO40-2622-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 72

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FM PEKING

TO DESKBY 26083OZ FCO

TELNO 700

OF 26041OZ APRIL 89

HKB 011/3

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INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

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018343

MDHIAN 2132

OF COPY DIST 7

MIPTS.

FAC IN CHINA: CALL ON VICE-FOREIGN MINISTER ZHOU NAN.

1. MAIN THEMES: PLACE OF HONG KONG IN CHINESE POLICY, CONFIDENCE AND EMIGRATION, VBPS, POLITICAL STRUCTURE, TIBET.

DETAIL.

2. HOWELL SUGGESTED BRITAIN AND CHINA HAD COMMON AIMS IN HONG

KONG. ALSO COMMON INTEREST IN TACKLING WORRIES WHICH MIGHT DAMAGE CONFIDENCE. 3 PARTICULAR ISSUES: (A) EMIGRATION AND THE ANXIETIES IT REFLECTED (I A OVER BRITISH PASSPORT POLICY), (B) VBPS AND WHAT CHINA COULD DO TO HELP, (C) HK NERVOUSNESS ABOUT CHANGE IN 1997 AND RELIABILITY OF JD.

3

ZHOU NAN AGREED ABOUT THE SINO-BRITISH COMMON INTEREST. COOPERATION HAD WORKED WELL SINCE THE JD, THE SITUATION IN H K WAS GENERALLY GOOD. ADVANCE IN REFORM/OPENING POLICY IN THE PRC HAD ALSO HELPED H K. ALL THIS SHOULD STRENGTHEN CONFIDENCE. BUT WORRIES WERE UNDERSTANDABLE TOO. CHINA LIKE BRITAIN HAD NOTED THE EMIGRATION RATE. SOME EMIGRANTS HAD PRACTICAL REASONS: OTHERS WANTED REINSURANCE, AN EXTRA BOLT-HOLE.

4.

NOT EVERYONE JUDGED HK'S POSITION OBJECTIVELY. ZHOU HIMSELF WAS VERY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT IT. CHINA'S JD COMMITMENT TO PRESERVE CAPITALISM IN HK WAS NOT A MATTER OF EXPEDIENCY BUT SELF-INTEREST. THE 50 YEARS' EXPRESSION NEED NOT BE READ LITERALLY. WERE PRACTICAL REASONS FOR CONFIDENCE:

THERE

REFORM POLICY IN CHINA WAS IRREVERSIBLE AND INCLUDED A COASTAL STRATEGY WHICH NEEDED THE IMPETUS AND EXAMPLE OF HK, MACAO AND TAIWAN.

IN A WORLD SHIFTING FROM CONFRONTATION TO ECONOMIC/ TECHNOLOGICAL COMPETITION, H K COULD HELP CHINA HOLD ITS OWN

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