TNAG-2287-FCO40-3290-Chinese-personalities-involved-with-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 94

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CONFIDENTIAL

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TO TELELETTER UKMIS NEW YORK

TELELETTER

OF 07133OZ FEBRUARY 91

FROM A J SEATON ESQ, FED, FCO

TO RN PEIRCE, UKMIS NEW YORK

CC DR J HOARE, PEKING

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CONFIDENTIAL

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15 FEB 1991

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023376

MDTTAN 7444

Wije

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YOUR TELELETTER OF 31 JANUARY

1.

JI CHOAZHU

THE GENERAL IMPRESSION HERE TOO IS THAT JI HAS DONE AN EFFECTIVE JOB REPRESENTING CHINA. EVEN WHEN THE GOING GOT HARDER AFTER JUNE 1989, HE SUCCEEDED IN PRESENTING THE ACCEPTABLE FACE OF CHINA AND IN MAINTAINING GOOD ACCESS AT SENIOR LEVEL, BOTH WITHIN GOVERNMENT AND MORE WIDELY. JI WAS IN CHINA DURING THE EVENTS AND THEIR IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH. ON HIS RETURN HE, AS YOU SAY, MADE IT PRETTY CLEAR PRIVATELY THAT HE WAS OUT OF SYMPATHY WITH WHAT WAS THEN HAPPENING IN CHINA. HE GAVE AWAY HIS OWN SYMPATHIES IN HIS DEALINGS WITH US IN PRESSING US TO OPEN LINES OF CONTACT WITH THE MORE REFORMIST FIGURES IN CHINA INCLUDING JIANG ZEMIN (TO WHOM HE IS CLOSE) LI RUIHUAN, AND THE MAJORS OF SHANGHAI AND TIANJIN. NONETHELESS IN PUBLIC HE PUT UP A SOPHISTICATED DEFENCE OF CHINESE ACTIONS AND POLICIES. 2. HIS SYMPATHIES MUST HAVE BEEN KNOWN, OR AT LEAST SUSPECTED, IN PEKING. BUT I AM NOT SURE THAT IT IS RIGHT TO THINK OF HIS UN JOB AS A DEMOTION. A MOVE AROUND THIS TIME WAS ON THE CARDS ANYWAY. JI HIMSELF HAS SPOKEN OF THE UN POST POSITIVELY FOR SOME TIME. IN MOST CHINESE EYES A UN JOB (BE IT LESS THAN GLAMOROUS) WOULD STILL BE HIGHLY VALUED. I SUSPECT (AND THIS IS OF COURSE ALL SPECULATION) THAT FOR JI PERSONALLY THE UN POST HELD CONSIDERABLE ATTRACTIONS BY COMPARISON WITH RETURNING TO PEKING. HIS US EDUCATION DOUBTLESS MAKES HIM HAPPY TO RETURN TO THE US. IF PEKING HAD REALLY WANTED TO MAKE A POINT, RECALLING HIM TO BE A DIRECTOR OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS INSTITUTE OR SOME SIMILAR POST WOULD HAVE FAR MORE CLEARLY SIGNALLED A DEMOTION.

3.

A FURTHER QUESTION THAT THIS HAS RAISED HOWEVER, IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH HIS KNOWN REFORMIST SYMPATHIES HAVE MADE HIM A

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