TNAG-2404-FCO40-3491-Hong-Kong-defence-and-public-order-1992 — Page 175

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INTRODUCTION

1.

The Chairman welcomed all the members of the Committee,

in particular Mr Stone (FCO), Maj Gen Foley, CBF Hong Kong (Designate)

and the HQ BFHK

BFHK team. He paid tribute to Maj Gen Duffell who was

attending his fifth and final Steering Group Meeting. The Chairman

emphasised how much Gen Duffell's help and advice had contributed to the

satisfactory resolution of issues over the past two and a half years and

pointed out that he had to deal with a number of extremely thorny problems during his tenure in office.

2. The Chairman then turned to Mr Stone, Head of the Administrative

Section Hong Kong Department of the FCO, and invited him to review the political scene.

3. Mr Stone began by saying that at the time of the last meeting, the

FCO had been in the throes of a series of very difficult meetings with the Chinese. Having finally achieved agreement over the airport project, relations with the Chinese had improved and the Prime Minister's visit to

Peking had been a high point. Problems had since arisen with the Chinese following the direct elections for seats on LEGCO, and LEGCO's subsequent

disagreement with the outcome of discussions on the Court of

of Final

Appeal. The latter in particular had made the Chinese deeply suspicious

that there was a deliberate ploy to give LEGCO a policy-making role.

ΑΞ Their understanding was that Hong Kong was led by the Executive,

tamistratin therefore they assumed that EXCO must be behind every contentious move.

4.

Mr Stone went on to say that not everything was bad news. The economy was doing very well. α was at its second highest

Airport Committee were both

GDP had risen by 4% and the Hang Seng Index

point ever. The Land Commission and the

working smoothly but were due to take major

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