SECRET
IMMEDIATE
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picture of the challenges that are coming towards them, and of
the timetable in which they have to be resolved. We have had a
lot of useful material from you recently, but in broad terms I
think we will want to address the following subjects:
a) The Airport project.
b) Contracts and Franchises spanning 1997.
c) Privatisation and corporatisation.
d) The prospects for greater Sino-British understanding on
financial and economic questions.
10. I expect that you will wish to talk this over with Sirj
Coles next week, but subject to that discussion I would hope
that I might come out (with Cox and Broadbent) on 30 March. We
could tackle the more political aspects first while your people
are tied up with the budget with LegCo. We would hope to talk
to UKRep JLG and the Political Adviser (and BTC) anyway
alongside our contacts in the HKG, but we will let you have
further thoughts next week. I think it would be useful also now
to take this opportunity to talk over some of the
some of the democracy 1995
LegCo issues.
11. An expedition of this kind, which might be repeated in
future, will help us greatly to convince Ministers here that we
are all on the same wavelength. It will also help to convince
an anxious Treasury that we understand Hong Kong Government
policy and are not simply replaying to them what is asserted by
Hong Kong. In any discussion of economic and financial issues,
we have to carry the Treasury with us. Our role is not so much
that of a post box but that of an honest broker, though we are
very
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