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1.
In principle, I agree with the game plan, ie, that we should gingerly resume discussions with the Chinese on Civil Service issues in Hong Kong through contacts with Lu Ping's deputy during his visit to Hong Kong next month. But we need to think long and hard about our game plan thereafter, before we get drawn into more specific discussions about the continuity of principal officials through 1997.
2. Mr Ricketts sets out in paragraph 7 of his minute all sorts of obvious advantages in ensuring continuity, but we should not be deluded into thinking that the Chinese will see it our way. We must avoid getting ourselves into another tangle through wishful thinking. In particular, I foresee enormous problems with Legco over any dialogue with the Chinese about principal officials governing Hong Kong before and after 1997. The issue will be made much more complicated by the question of who will be the Chief Executive, and this, in turn, is bound to be a topic of tremendous speculation before and after decisions are made about any changes to the present Governor and Chief Secretary.
3.
It is interesting that the Chinese seem to be thinking again about these matters (paragraph 9), but it seems pretty clear that they will not share our objectives in getting matters sorted out at an early stage. We shall have a long and difficult task ahead of us in trying to persuade them of the merits of our position. We shall need to consider carefully whether these are issues which we want to raise initially through a dialogue between Peking and Hong Kong, or whether it would be better to launch the discussion, eg, at one of the six-monthly meetings of Foreign Ministers. It is by no means clear to me that the Chinese will be any more prepared to do a deal with Hong Kong over principal officials than they were ready to do a deal over the airport with anyone other than London.
4.
Finally, I cannot help feeling that our negotiating, vis-à-vis Hong Kong/Peking, will be very substantially improved if discussion on this subject takes place after the next General Election in the UK, ie, when the Chinese will realise that they are talking about these issues with the Government that will see Hong Kong virtually through to 1997.
HKCB 010/5
Adair Ram
RA Burns
22 November 1991
Cc:
Sir J Coles Mr Ricketts, HKD
A35ABG
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