CONFIDENTIAL
HKB 026/2
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Dea Charles
London SW1A 2AH
17 February 1989
Hong Kong
The Governor of Hong Kong will be calling on the Prime Minister on Wednesday 22 February at 5.00 pm. As background for that meeting, we have prepared the enclosed paper on Hong Kong which describes our objectives for the territory and how we are achieving them. It sets out the key issues of concern in Hong Kong and how these are being tackled.
The meeting with the Governor, the first since Sir David Wilson took up the post in 1987, is a timely one. There is heightened Parliamentary and media interest in Hong Kong. There are also a number of current misconceptions about our commitment to the territory and the way we are carrying out our responsibilities towards it. The Foreign Affairs Committee enquiry into Hong Kong, which begins next month, will provide an important opportunity to set the record straight.
The Prime Minister might invite the Governor to give an account of the general situation in Hong Kong; the state of opinion there; and the priorities for his administration.
As the background paper makes clear, a very great deal of work is being done to make sure that the Joint Declaration sticks, so that Hong Kong can enjoy a stable and prosperous future. The Prime Minister might ask the Governor about the progress that is being made over the drafting of the Basic Law and the development of representative government in the territory.
The most difficult problem facing the Governor has undoubtedly been that of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong. Sir David Wilson will wish to describe what the Hong Kong authorities are doing to contain the problem.
The Prime Minister might ask about the state of confidence in the territory. As the briefing paper shows, the recent upward trend in emigration from the territory is a source of concern and the Hong Kong authorities are taking a number of steps to contain its effects. The paper also covers the subject of nationality, which remains a source of some resentment in the territory.
C D Powell Esq 10 Downing Street
Yous ever
Bosler
(R N Peirce)
Private Secretary
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