TNAG-2470-FCO40-3594-Budget-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 44

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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FM PEKING

TO TELELETTER HONG KONG

TELELETTER N FR

OF 170455Z MARCH 92

INFO TELELETTER F C 0, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

FROM

TELELETTER

SIR ROBIN MCLAREN, PEKING

N FR OF 17 MARCH 1992

FOLLOWING FOR LORD WILSON, HONG KONG

COPIED TO

1.

R A BURNS, AUSS, ECO

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2. Mailigkith: IND

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AC GALSWORTHY, UKREP JLG, HONG KONG

Mr Tighalts

eXps/Land Caitline, HALFED Мотчили

DAVID AKERS-JONES CAME TO LUNCH ON 14 MARCH. HE WAS HERE IN 17/3

HIS CAPACITY AS ADVISER TO THE HONG KONG BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL GROUP, EIGHT OF WHOM WERE IN PEKING FOR MEETINGS WITH CHINESE LEADERS. SOME OF THEM, INCLUDING SIR S Y CHUNG AND VINCENT LO, WERE AMONG THE 44 ADVISERS GIVEN THEIR CERTIFICATES OF APPOINTMENT AT A CEREMONY HERE LAST WEEK. THEY HAD STAYED ON FOR FURTHER MEETINGS IN THEIR BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL GROUP CAPACITIES.

2.

DAVID AKERS-JONES WILL BE GIVING THE GOVERNOR AN ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS MEETINGS WHEN HE RETURNS TO HONG KONG BUT IT MAY BE WORTH RECORDING ONE OR TWO POINTS WHICH STRUCK ME.

3

LU PING GAVE THE GROUP TWO AND A HALF HOURS (A LONG TIME, CONSIDERING THAT THERE WAS NO INTERPRETATION) AND WAS DUE TO SEE THEM AGAIN FOR DINNER ON THE EVENING OF 14 MARCH, TAKING THE PLACE

? OF JI PENGFEI, WHO IS SAID TO BE ILL. HE WAS GREATLY EXERCISED

ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE BUDGET SPEECH, RETURNING TO THE POINT AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT WAS THE FIGURE FOR 1997 THAT HE WAS PARTICULARLY

ANNOYED ABOUT. HE REFERRED SEVERAL TIMES TO THE MONTHS OF

NEGOTIATION WHICH HAD BEEN NECESSARY TO GET THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT TO AGREE TO LEAVE HK25 BILLION IN RESERVES - HE APPARENTLY COMPARED THE PROCESS TO GETTING BLOOD OUT OF A STONE AND ASKED HOW A FIGURE THREE TIMES THAT COULD SUDDENLY BE ANNOUNCED

ONLY A FEW MONTHS LATER. HOW COULD ONE HAVE CONFIDENCE IN SUCH FIGURES ?

ANOTHER POINT LU RETURNED TO MORE THAN ONCE WAS HIS CONCERN

ABOUT PRIVATISATION IN HONG KONG. HE DID NOT SPECIFICALLY REFER TO RTHK IN THIS CONTEXT, BUT HE DID MENTION THE KCR, AND ONE OR TWO OTHER EXAMPLES. HE APPARENTLY DISPLAYED GREAT SUSPICION AS TO WHY

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