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FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1640
OF 221222Z MAY 91
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
INFO PRIORITY UKREP JLG HONG KONG
AIRPORT TALKS: COMMENTS TO THE PRESS, 23 MAY
1
AFTER AN OPENING CEREMONY THIS AFTERNOON I WAS ASKED BY THE MEDIA ABOUT THE OUTCOME OF THE TALKS. I SAID THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT THE TALKS HAD CONCLUDED WITHOUT AN AGREEMENT BEING REACHED. FIVE DAYS OF INTENSIVE TALKS HAD BEEN HELD AND A LOT OF HARD WORK DONE BY BOTH SIDES.
2. I SAID THAT I WAS AWAITING A FULL REPORT FROM THE TEAM WHEN THEY RETURNED TO HONG KONG LATER IN THE AFTERNOON AND WOULD NOT THEREFORE COMMENT ON DETAILS. OUR OBJECTIVE HAD BEEN TO TRY TO GET AN AGREEMENT THAT ENABLED US TO GO AHEAD IN A PRACTICAL, PRAGMATIC, WAY WITH THE AIRPORT PROJECT. IF A PROJECT OF THIS SORT WAS TO BE UNDERTAKEN EFFICIENTLY, COST-EFFECTIVELY AND WITH PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT WE HAD TO BE CERTAIN THAT WE HAD THE ABILITY TO TAKE DECISIONS QUICKLY. AT THE SAME TIME WE HAD BEEN
TRYING TO MEET CHINESE CONCERNS WHERE POSSIBLE. A NUMBER OF
ISSUES HAD BEEN LEFT UNRESOLVED. IT WAS NOW NECESSARY TO THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT WHAT THE TWO SIDES HAD DISCUSSED, WHAT AREAS THERE WERE ON WHICH WE HAD FAILED TO REACH AGREEMENT, WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS WERE AND WHERE WE WENT NEXT.
3. IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT CHEN ZUO'ER HAD SAID
ABOUT THE CHINESE SIDE TABLING A TEXT, I SAID THAT WE HAD ALSO TABLED A PROPOSAL WHICH WE THOUGHT WAS A VERY PRACTICAL WAY OF GETTING AHEAD WITH THE PROJECT IN A SENSIBLE MANNER.
WILSON
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