TNAG-2168-FCO40-3105-House-of-Commons-Foreign-Affairs-Committee-inquiry-into-Hong-1990 — Page 76

STATIONING PLA TROOPS IN HONG KONG

The Joint Declaration provides for China to station

military forces in Hong Kong SAR after 1997 for the purpose

of defence but states that they "shall not interfere in the

internal affairs of the HKSAR". Following Tiananmen Square,

this provision understandably caused considerable concern amongst Hong Kong people. We have urged the Chinese on a number of occasions and at Ministerial level to treat this

matter with sensitivity. The Chinese made clear on each

occasion that the question had been settled in the JD and that these were sovereign matters for the Chinese. We propose to revert to the subject in the context of JLG discussions on defence lands, when we will stress that there

is little practical need for a large and prominent PLA presence in Hong Kong after 1997. But we believe it would be counterproductive to revert to the issue before then.

RIDAFO/7