Mr Ricketts HKD
CC: PS/PYS
Sir J Cotes
X HUM Mr Bone, LRD
Sir Robin Butler GCB CVO
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS
Ref:A093/1728
Grateful for advous.
Saxtol
RS/PUS 10-vi
10
303, Richmond Road,
Twickenham,
Middlesex TW1 2NP
3 June 1733
14746
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кв отбра
10/6
17 JUN 1993
о
I've submitted 3a dife inplay
Thank you for your letter of 27 May about the book. I am glad you
enjoyed reading it and am grateful for your quick reply.
I think I understand your doubts; and I should not want to do
anything that would sabotage the current negotiations. But your request does present me with serious difficulties and, with respect,
does not flow logically from the common concern for the talks. As I
shall try to show below, your fears about the effect of the book on
the talks are groundless and the case for suppressing two chapters
therefore not very convincing.
To take the electoral arrangements first, your grounds for objection are exactly those expressed at the time of my first public
comments last December, namely that by speaking out I am weakening
the British negotiating position.
There are a number of answers to this. First, I am no longer in
any official post; the British negotiating line is determined by
Ministers and the Governor; and the Chinese know perfectly well that
I no longer have anything to do with it. Second, if there were any damage arising from my comments, it has long been done: my views have been known for many months; it is hardly plausible that, on reading my
book in 1994, the Chinese will suddenly see a new crack in the British
line; or the British negotiators feel they are under some new
compulsion. Third, since 13 April the gap between my position and
that of the Government has grown much smaller. After a period of
damaging confrontation, when we threatened unilateral action and leaving the issue to Legco to decide, the Government have come round
to a policy much like that I have advocated throughout, namely
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.