TNAG-1847-FCO40-2622-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 81

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FM PEKING

TO DESKBY 260830Z FCO

TELNO 697

OF 260202Z APRIL 89

CONFIDENTIAL

HKB 011/3

TOP COPY Q DIST?

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

310)

010233

MDHIAN 2121

(289

FAC VISIT TO PEKING, 22-25 APRIL: GENERAL.

1. THIS TEL CONTAINS AN ADMINISTRATIVE ROUND-UP OF THE VISIT.

MY FIRST 3 IFTS CONTAIN SUMMARY RECORDS OF THE CALLS ON LIAO HANSHENG, LI HOU AND ZHOU NAN. MY FOURTH IFT RECORDS POINTS ARISING AT AN EMBASSY WASH-UP SESSION AND MY FIFTH

IFT ADDRESSES THE PROBLEM OF PRESS REPORTS (YOUR TELNO 374′ AND HONG KONG TELNO 1296 TO FCO).

HKD 340/8 (112)

309

2. THE FAC FOLLOWED A PROGRAME BASED ON THAT GIVEN IN MY TELNO

79 TO BTC HONG KONG. SOME MINOR REJIGGING OF TWO OF THE CALLS

WAS DONE BY THE FAC'S HOSTS, PIFA, ON 22 APRIL. ON 23 APRIL PIFA TOLD US THAT AT THE LAST MINUTE, THE VICE MINISTER OF FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS AND TRADE, SHEN JUEREN, HAD DECIDED THAT HE WOULD BE UNABLE TO RECEIVE THE FAC BECAUSE OF PRESSURE

OF OTHER BUSINESS.

3. THE VISIT BEGAN WITH A RECEIPTION I GAVE FOR THE FAC TO

MEET MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG EXPATRIATE COMMUNITIES

HERE AND MEMBERS OF MY STAFF. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY AN IN-HOUSE

DINNER FOR THE COMMITTEE WHICH INCLUDED SOME THREE HOURS OF

BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION DURING WHICH MEMBERS SOUGHT ADVICE ON

HOW BEST TO RAISE WITH AND PRESENT TO THE CHINESE THE ISSUES THEY WISHED TO DISCUSS: WITH WHOM TO RAISE THE VARIOUS TOPICS ON THEIR LIST: AND BACKGROUND BRIEFING ON CHINA'S ATTITUDE AND

POLICY TOWARDS HONG KONG (PAST AND PRESENT), PRC/UK RELATIONS AND SINO-SOVIET RELATIONS CON WHICH THEY WANTED TO BE REASSURED THERE

WAS NO RISK OF RESURRECTING AN OLD-STYLE COMMUNIST BLOC).

4. ON 23 APRIL THE FAC WENT SIGHTSEEING AND HAD DINNER WITH THEIR HOST, HAN NIANLONG, THE CHAIRMAN OF PIFA. THE HEAD OF MFA WESTERN EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT WAS PRESENT. A PRE-DINNER DISCUSSION PERIOD WAS DEVOTED MAINLY TO 1992, ON WHICH THE BRITISH MPS DIVIDED ON PARTY LINES. HAN NIANLONG SPOKE ROBUSTLY ON SINO-SOVIET RELATIONS, PROMISING THERE WOULD BE NO RETURN TO THE 1950S.

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