Mr Ricketts, HKD
Si Rebin Butler's office have alizady Caracted us about this letter. Grateful for draft letter from pus - Robin Butter
ging
Comment
to be incorporate dinte fi Robin
Butler's reply, by 12 December please.
Sir Robin Butler GCB CVO
Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
London SW1A 2AS
303 Richmond Road
Twickenham
Middlesex TW1 2NP
22/10/93
CCPS/PMS
I team wont enc.
Jacant Rocker
APE/PAS HLB 010/
30/193
umber.
1993
19 RY
STY
I have now made the
As I warned you in my letter of 28 Septembe
final revision of the text of 'Experiences of China' in order to bring
it as up to date as I can before publication next spring.
With two very small exceptions, the changes are confined to the
penultimate chapter. In view of the latest developments, I found it
impossible to leave this chapter untouched, despite strong
temptations to do so: that would have given too optimistic and unreal
an impression. On the other hand, since no final decisions have yet
been taken on our side, I have had to write of the likely effects of
unilateral action in a conditional way, saying that if we do this or
that certain consequences will follow.
This section is followed by one on the longer term outlook for
Hong Kong, which you will find bears a close resemblance to the
original text. All new writing is sidelined. For convenience, I
provide the text of the whole chapter, though only the later pages
and the title are changed.
Several of the new passages are critical of what
may be
government policy. I am afraid that is inevitable: the situation has
worsened and of the two evils now facing us we seem bent on chooosing
the larger. On the other hand, I do not see that criticism can weaken
the government's negotiating position, as you feared in the summer:
the negotiations seem to be at an end. If, however, I am wrong in that
and the talks are somehow revived, my criticisms will be related to a hypothetical rather than an actual policy. In any event, criticism in
what is now a public debate will not, I hope, be regarded as
unacceptable in itself.
The two changes outside Chapter 24 occur in the Preface and in
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.