TNAG-2256-FCO40-3240-Hong-Kong-Port-and-Airport-Development-Strategy-(PADS)-gene-1991 — Page 152

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Government tell them on trust. On the other hand, we will need to ensure that consultation with the Chinese does not amount to condominium or give them a right of veto on

decision making. The next six years will put the Hong Kong Government under great strain. It will be essential to maintain its authority.

12. The most striking current example of this dilemma is the airport project. The Chinese now accept that Hong Kong needs a new airport and (probably) that the site selected by the Hong Kong Government is acceptable. But they continue to have strong reservations about the scale of the project and its financial implications. They are pressing for restrictions on the way in which the Hong Kong Government manages its finances in the years up to 1997 (including the setting aside of two thirds of the current fiscal reserves for the use of the post-1997 Government); and a significant degree of influence over the management of the airport project.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

(a) The Relationship with China

How to balance:

(a) the need for a more constructive relationship with China over Hong Kong with

(b) the need to fulfil our responsibility for the administration of Hong Kong under the Joint Declaration and thus maintain the authority of the Hong Kong Government?

LEGAER/6

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