TNAG-2119-FCO40-3025-Future-of-Hong-Kong-general-1990 — Page 245

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From: Lord MacLehose of Beoch K.T.

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17th July 1990

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Marwen, Hai)

Beoch.

Maybole,

Ayrshire, KA19 8EN Telephone 0655 83114

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M. Mc Loven

2. Chef Clark

Dom

1984 White Paper on the Future of Hong Kong

Last week I had a call from Ross H. Munro of the

20/04

70

Foreign Policy Research Institute (a copy of his card is enclosed).

He asked to see me about our visit to Peking in 1979, and I had agreed so as to take yet another opportunity of denying the old allegation that Deng told me that China would have Hong Kong back in 1997.

This was indeed what he asked me about, and I gave him a copy of my press statement on return to Hong Kong and also a copy of an interview given by Sir Y.K. Kan to the South China Morning Post a couple of years ago.

He then went on to ask questions about the attempt made to solve the specific question of land leases expiring in 1997 (paragraph 6 of the Introduction to the White Paper). When I said that I had indeed raised this issue as an example of a practical problem involving confidence He then said he had heard from several sound sources that we had made a very "neat" proposal, but that it had been rejected by the Chinese later in the year in September, and he wanted to know what the proposal was. I said that I could not remember exactly; and even if I could I would not tell him, but the essence was by agreement with China to remove the terminal date from these land leases. I said that it was true that the proposal had been followed up through the diplomatic channel and been rejected. The reference to this had been compressed in the White Paper because the rejection of the proposal had made it irrelevant to the eventual negotiation and Joint Declaration.

I thought I better let you know about this in case some story breaks, and you are asked to comment since you were in Peking and subsequently Political Adviser.

I am copying this letter to John Boyd at the F.C.0.

just in case.

His Excellency Sir David Wilson, KCMG, Government House,

Magis Ry/%

HONG KONG

c.c. John Boyd Esq., CMG, Chief Clerk, FCO.

for future general

for 118