F. 324
RESTRICTED WAS X 17
3
10.
Mr Bob Wareing said there was
lot of Concern
about secrecy in the negotiations. He noted the JD's
stictures on confidentiality. But it was important to
involve the Hong Kong people. There was concern about a legal vacuum. People did not know what was going on.
11.
The CS said
said this was a problem inherent in any
diplomatic negotiations. The Governor had been as open as possible in his speech.
12.
Mr Michael Gapes said that if we were coming to the crunch we would need to appeal to HK public opinion. He thought there was a constituency which had been critical in the past and which needed to be brought over.
13.
The CS said that when the talks were over we would
be in very different diplomatic situation.
a
would then put their cases very clearly.
14.
Both sides
FAC
Mr Michael Jopling felt the Governor had probably
made the right choices recently. If HKG backed Off алу
further now it would look foolish. But one issue the
needed to address was whether the approach in 1992 was the right one. Many people had said that it was crazy to deal with the Chinese in the way that had been chosen.
15.
decision.
the case
officials.
The CS said that it had not been an Easy
There had been much agony. It was certainly not
headstrong a
Governor overruling
of
his
It was important to remember that the traditional way of dealing with China had been wearing thin. If the negotiations had been hold in secret, both the Legislative Council and the community would have been
unhappy.
that Also the Governor had said, very clearly,
Also it was worth
his
proposals
were only
ideas.
remembering that when the speech was made everybody, including the business community, had been very supportive for three weeks. Then the Chinese reaction had begun.
ق
RESTRICTED 內部文件
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.