TNAG-2598-FCO40-3786-Appointment-of-Chris-Patten-as-new-Governor-of-Hong-Kong--Ap-1992 — Page 34

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

18 June 1992

Mr Bernard Thorogood

The United Reformed Church

86 Tavistock Place

London

WC1H 9RT

London SWIA 2AH

From The Minister of State

Bet 19/ Ms Mastfel, For the

Marr woke

23 June mi w. Mr Pati

19/6

19/6

In Thorogood.

Thank you for your letter of 4 June to Douglas Hurd about Hong Kong. I understand that you will be part of an ecumenical group calling on Mr Patten later this month, so you will have an opportunity to discuss your concerns more fully then. But I should like to take up some of the points you make in your letter.

I agree with you about the importance of our responsibility for upholding the interests of the people of Hong Kong and ensuring that they have a successful future. is precisely for that reason that we seek to maintain a good working relationship with China. As you say, China is important to us in other respects too, for example in being like ourselves one of the (five) permanent members of the UN Security Council. But from Britain's point of view the

determining, and by far the largest, element in our relationship with China is Hong Kong. It is essential for Hong Kong that Britain and China should work together in the run-up to 1997. We need to ensure together that the many legal and other arrangements are in place to provide for Hong Kong to enjoy the smooth transition which the majority of its people want.

We

It

You raise the development of democracy in Hong Kong. would like to see a faster pace. As you acknowledge, it has generally been our policy to establish representative government in our former colonial territories. But in the case of Hong Kong, China's attitude simply cannot be brushed aside. The relationship with China is crucial to the future of Hong Kong. We wish Hong Kong's institutions to flourish and grow beyond 1997. That is why we want to see steady progress towards a greater degree of direct election in Hong Kong, but progress that will be sustainable and continue to develop after 1997. This is an aim that is widely shared among Hong Kong people, not only among the restricted group to which you refer. We have taken significant steps in the