TNAG-2717-FCO40-3923-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 101

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Hong Kong : FAC Session on 8 December

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The Foreign Affairs Committee session on 8 December, at which Percy Craddock, Richard Evans and Alan Donald are due to give evidence, will be followed closely by the Hong Kong media.

I am concerned that in what will be a particularly sensitive week here, we should act very swiftly indeed to counter any claims that may be made at the session that our present policy contradicts earlier agreements or understandings with the Chinese. To be effective, any rebuttal would need to be issued the same day and in the name of either the Foreign Secretary or the Minister of State. It will be particularly important to ensure that any notion that Ministers might have given their blessing in the past to any hitherto unrevealed quote secret understandings unquote is not allowed to gain currency here.

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Subject to your views, you may wish as a contingency precaution to agree possible Lines of rebuttal with Ministers in advance so that

that these can be signed off without delay on Wednesday if necessary. (We would also be grateful to see drafts.) то ensure that any rebuttal is rock solid, it may be worth your researches carrying out before Wednesday one final review of the files particularly for the late 1989-early 1990 period so that, you or we are pressed, we can confirm categorically that no ministerial authority for any undertaking going beyond those in the seven Letters was ever sought or given.

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One further thought. It would be helpful if some other high profile event or statement on Hong Kong could be devised for Wednesday to act as a competing attraction to the FAC session for the Hong Kong press. I appreciate that this is a tall order and cannot myself think of an obvious candidate for such an event. if a senior figure, whether in Parliament or outside, could be encouraged to make some supportive public comments on Wednesday,

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