TNAG-2733-FCO40-3939-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-1993 — Page 113

på

2/8

CONFIDENTIAL

HKB 012/1

Mr Morris, HKD

RECEIVED IN

104 WIN, 1873

DESK OFFICER INDEX

REGISTRY

Taken

Ans, BJ/30/7 Mrßmuten

Nѕ балетие

сток

B.4. far Ricketts oth

Constit serpt

131

داموس

Hong Kong/Chiha: Call by the Governor of Hong Kong

There was a brief discussion of the negotiations with China over Hong Kong at the end of the Governor's private call on the Secretary of State this morning.

The Governor said that the situation in China was so uncertain that at the Secretary of State's meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister in New York in September, Qian Qichen may not be in a position to make any progress on the through train as he would not be able to deliver the Chinese leadership to a set of agreed objective criteria for continued membership of LEGCO. At the same time the Chinese, in practice, may not be able to kick people off LEGCO in 1997. The Governor thought we would have to make an assessment after the 27 September meeting.

More generally, the Governor commented that the back drop to the negotiations over the coming year would be of some turbulence in China, if only economic. The absence of an agreement would cause some bother in the community in Hong Kong. However an agreement on a basis acceptable to China might cause even more trouble in Hong Kong and in the UK. It would be extremely difficult for a British Minister to present to parliament how the new functional constituencies had been arrived at and why no objective criteria for the through train had been agreed. If there were no outcome, the Governor thought he would have to present LEGCO with a number of alternatives and recommend to them the new bottom line we will be presenting in the next round of talks. He would have to say something also in his October speech and was planning to present what would happen firstly in the event of an agreement and, secondly, if the talks failed.

The Secretary of State agreed with this line of thinking. The Governor would have to say something of substance in his October speech.

29 July 1993

cc: PS/Mr Goodlad

PS/PUS

Sir J Coles Mr Hum

Jim Sawer

(R J Sawers)

Mr Fry, FED News Dept Planners

Special Advisers

CONFIDENTIAL