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Turning to the second point, it is, I believe, inevitable that the Chinese government interprets your British passport policy as questioning both their integrity and their ability. I warned you and Robin McLaren of this and it surely came as no surprise to the FCO when the Chinese government repeated publicly what had been known to be their position on this matter by anyone who had studied the situation in depth. I am bound to say that your proposals do indeed qualify as an attempt to change the '84 Agreement in spirit and, indeed, in substance.
In the first draft of this letter, which I dictated a couple of weeks ago prior to having flu, I wrote the following paragraph: 'In simple terms, the clamour for the security of British passports for key personnel in Hong Kong is seen in Beijing as tantamount to a statement of no confidence in China's desire or ability to maintain stability in Hong Kong. It is little short of a direct insult. The effect of so insulting the Chinese government
government seems to me to be likely seriously to damage Hong Kong's relations with China. The long-term implications of this for Hong Kong are very serious indeed.'
Since then, sadly, my predictions have already come true. The effect on the stability of Hong Kong of undermining the confidence of the Chinese government in
in the British government, strikes me as an extremely serious matter. To say this is not to speak on behalf of the Chinese government, but to try to think on behalf of the citizens of Hong Kong. It has always been stated, rightly, that Hong Kong's welfare is largely dependent on the maintenance of good relations between London and Beijing. Your passport proposals have done precious little for the majority of Hong Kong's people in that regard. Perhaps I should also remind you of the recent speech by Barry Wigham at a 'private dinner' in Hong Kong and its effect upon the Chinese government. The endorse- ment of that speech by Francis Maude did nothing to reassure the Chinese government that Britain remains committed unequivocally to the '84 Agreement. Indeed, their reaction to that speech and to the passport proposals seem to me seriously to question the wisdom of recent statements from a Ministerial colleague who I am sure meant well, but was not himself involved in the early eighties in all these discussions. Failure to appreciate the historic background to the present situation portends trouble.
Can we now turn to the likely effect of the British passport proposals on Hong Kong itself during the next 7 years: we shall be creating a 'sheep' and 'goats' society. Those who
are 'on the list' will inevitably feel that they have
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