RESTRICTED
36,
yes,
but
not so
บา
D G Martin Esq JLG Office
HONG KONG
MACAU
Dew Daz
HIC B
02014
Miss Marsten
Elaps
BRITISH EMBASSY,
LISBON.
11 July 1989
My Cannar
Very odd-expecially x
враторий
1. Governor Melancia spent a lot of his recent visit here talking to the press. I enclose a translation of a typical article. As you will see, the tendency is to claim that Macau is better off than Hong Kong, but I totally fail to understand the reference to Peking naming an Ambassador at the end of the penultimate paragraph. Can you please try to enlighten
me?
2. Melancia also gave a long interview to the "Diario de Noticias" of which the main point was that the Portuguese have agreed with the Chinese to build an immigration post into the Portas do Cerco, ostensibly in order to be able to control frontier movement in the light of the increased traffic which will occur with the building of the Macau airport. But also mentioned is the fact that this post will "obviate the irregular situations affecting about 30 to 40,000 Chinese who are residing illegally in Macau". In short, the Macau authorities have agreed to help do the Chinese authorities' dirty work for them. I suspect that this agreement is linked with the fears referred to in my tel no 174 of 23 June to the FCO.
3.
We have still not heard anything more definite about the Portuguese/Chinese JLG scheduled for the end of this month, but I am seeing a member of the Presidency again today and will try to find out more. It is clear from Melancia's interviews that he would like to go ahead with the meeting. The reference in the Secretary of State's Hong Kong press conference to work with the Chinese continuing "as it must" has also been picked up by the Portuguese as a sign that we may be continuing our JLGs too.
CC:
British Trade Commission, Hong Kong Hong Kong Department, FCO
SED, FCO
Your ever,
سن
Charles Drace-Francis
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