TNAG-2310-FCO40-3350-Air-services-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1991 — Page 22

HKCIFI/6

CONFIDENTIAL

6

126704

MDHIAN 0227

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 1844

OF 071145Z JUNE 91

of

отр

INFO PRIORITY UKREP JLG HONG KONG, PEKING

PEKING TELNO 163 TO HONG KONG: AIRPORT TALKS:

CALL BY SIR ADRIAN SWIRE

بری

pa. нкістћа AS

851076

1. SIR ADRIAN SWIRE CALLED ON ME TODAY TO BRIEF ME ON HIS VISIT TO PEKING. HE ONLY ADDED ONE POINT TO THOSE SET OUT IN TUR. THIS WAS THAT THE SWIRES' PARTY HAD DISCUSSED DRAGONAIR'S SERVICES TO CHINA OVER LUNCH WITH THE NEW HEAD OF CAAC. HE HAD SEEMED REASONABLY RECEPTIVE TO THE IDEA OF ALLOWING MORE DRAGONAIR SERVICES TO CHINA. HE HAD ALSO APPARENTLY TOLD THEM THAT ZHU RONGJI, WHO WAS NOW OVERSEEING CAAC, HAD PASSED ON TO CAAC COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE INADEQUACY OF SERVICES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND PEKING.

2. I CAN ADD A GLOSS TO THE REFERENCES TO 'PICKPOCKETS' IN PARA. 3 OF TUR. SIR ADRIAN SWIRE TOLD BOTH JIANG ZEMIN AND LI PENG THAT THEY SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO THE POISONOUS MESSAGES THAT WERE CARRIED BY SOME PEOPLE WHO VISITED PEKING FROM HONG KONG. LI PENG DID NOT RESPOND. JIANG, ON THE OTHER HAND, SEEMED TO TAKE THE POINT. HE SAID THAT CHINESE LEADERS HAD TO SEE THESE PEOPLE, BUT THEY REALISED THE DANGERS OF ALLOWING WEDGES TO BE DRIVEN BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND BRITISH GOVERNMENTS. LATER ON, SHORTLY BEFORE SIR ADRIAN SWIRE LEFT PEKING, A MEMBER OF HIS PARTY HAD BEEN ASKED INFORMALLY BY AN OFFICIAL OF THE HONG KONG AND MACAU OFFICE WHETHER ADRIAN SWIRE HAD BEEN REFERRING TO A CERTAIN HONG KONG LAWYER (I.E. T.S LO). IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT HE HAD, AMONG OTHERS.

WILSON

·

YYYY

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