HONG KONG
CONFIDENTIAL
Chris Patten was given a rough ride in Peking. The Chinese showed no interest in discussing the substance of his constitutional proposals. They are now trying to undermine support for him in Hong Kong by inflammatory public comments.
But so far the mood in Hong Kong is resilient, and the markets
encouragingly stable. We face a difficult period, with no Chinese cooperation over the airport or other Hong Kong issues.
Chris Patten's visit here in mid-November will be a
good chance to take stock. In the meantime, we took the
initiative to publish correspondence between me and the
Chinese Foreign Minister in early 1990. This sets the record
straight after misleading Chinese claims that we had reached secret agreements with them on electoral arrangements for Hong
Kong.
CONFIDENTIAL
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