TNAG-2702-FCO40-3908-Memoirs-of-Sir-Percy-Cradock--diplomat-and-sinologist-1993 — Page 193

On the British side the

Government expressed

ther full backing for Mr Patten; and the Foreign Secretary

stated that the days of negotiation with Peking over the

head of Hong Kong were past. In Hong Kong the Governor was

criticised by the business community, but otherwise

enjoyed much personal support, though this was coupled with

a strong popular wish that confrontation with China should

be avoided, a typical Hong Kong combination. In Britain

itself attitudes were less nuancé. The press preferred to

portray the issue in the terms of a simple morality play, in

which the Governor fought the good fight against the wicked

Chinese in the cause of democracy. The fact that the

struggle took place over the body of Hong Kong and the

likely effect on Hong Kong if the reforms were made law and

the Chinese threats were put into operation were aspects

that received less attention.

By the end of 1992 Sino-British relations had

fallen to their lowest level for some ten years. The speed

of the deterioration and the strength of the Chinese

response suggested that, contrary to popular perception,

earlier negotiations had gone near the limits of Chinese

tolerance.

Diplomacy was not entirely asleep, however. It

seems that the British Government were by this time x

sufficiently concerned at the crisis to put out feelers to

Peking for talks without preconditions; and for some months

in early 1993 the British Ambassador, Sir Robin McLaren,

conducted delicate talks about talks. After an unfortunate

interruption in March, coinciding with the meeting of the

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