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RECENTISTRY CONFIDENTIAL
12 MAY 1993
DESK OFFICER INDEX
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
CONFIDENTIAL
GOVERNOR'S CALL ON SENATOR BAUCUS 4 MAY, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Present:
Senator Baucus 2 aides
Governor
Mr. Wiggham Mr. Dinham
The Governor thanked Senator Baucus for his consistent support on MFN. He said that his discussions with the Administration so far that week nad given him the impression that they were looking for a package of conditions on MFN renewal which would push the Chinese along without exacting too hostile a reaction, while at the same time going far enough to keep people like Mitchell and Pelosi on board. The Governor said he had made all the arguments for MFN to the President, the Vice President and others and had been listened to courteously. They had taken his points into account. At the same time they had to square the President's campaign pledges.
Senator Baucus said he thought this analysis was about right. The President was looking for a reasonable compromise. If possible he would want any conditions to be applied and monitored by the Executive rather than Congress to give himself sufficient flexibility. The democrats in Congress would not want to hold Clinton too rigorously to the letter of his pre-Election undertakings on MFN. Senator Mitchell was a good team player who would not wish to embarrass the President. If he was prepared to give the President an extra year on MFN he thought Representative Pelosi would also go along. The more the Governor and others made the case about the negative impact of conditioning MFN, the more it would help the President achieve a balanced outcome.
The Governor said that in public he would continue to make the case for unconditional renewal. But clearly, if conditions were to be set, there were some which were far more acceptable than others. It would be important for example that they were achievable, framed in fairly general terms, set by the Executive and as Hong Kong- friendly as possible. Above all, progress on Hong Kong's constitutional debate should not be caught up as an MFN condition,
Senator Baucus asked what had been happening on constitutional issues since he had last met the Governor in August. The Governor explained the relevant background and said that the two sides were at last talking. It was heavy going and the process could last quite a time. There were two main issues at stake. Would the electoral arrangements for 1995 be open and clean or would they be rigged? Would there be clear and objective criteria which, if met, would allow those elected in 1995 to continue on the through train beyond 1997? The important thing was that the Chinese should be aware that the way they handled the Hong Kong issue would prove to
CONCIDENTUM
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