16-02-1993 15:27 HKGO LONDON 071 495 5033
44 71 495 5033 P.03
will in some way punish Hong Kong after 1997.
A:
Well, certainly the business community does have a different view. Of course, it is looking at things from a different perspective. It's most concerned about the economy of Hong Kong and many of them of course have very extensivè contacts with China, or are doing business in China, and that is having an effect on the way which they think about these proposals. And I suppose it is also true the business community as a whole, is the more conservative side of the community.
Q:
What do you make of all this talk of an alternative government, Chinese Government being formed in Hong Kong before 1997, an alternative shadow cabinet and setting up a new stove. What does this mean to you?
A:
'Well, of course there are arrangements in the Joint Declaration for preparatory committee to be set up nearer 1997 which will be involved in making arrangements for the handover. We think that is obviously a very reasonably thing to happen. If there were to be anything further than that. if there were to be an alternative source of power or authority in Hong Kong ahead of that, that obviously would be a matter of concern. But I notice that the Chinese statement on this recently are being quite guarded, and I would be surprised if in any way the Chinese Government sought to undermine the authority of the Hong Kong Government, that would not be in the interest of stability here. It would obviously have an unsetting on everybody ahead of 1997. And I would be surprised if that came about myself.
Q:
Would they be aimed to undermine the authority of the Hong Kong Government if they set themselves up as an alternative, parallel government? Would they be able to make the Hong Kong Government appear to be a lame duck administration?
A:
Well, the difficulty would be, of course, is that if people believe that major decisions which were straddling 1997 or indeed which took place before 1997 could not be approved, without the authority of the Chinese Government and the Chinese Government set up a visible evidence of that authority and encourage people to go to it to seek approval of projects either before or straddling 1997, then that would be damaging, I think, to the credibility of Hong Kong Government. But, I notice that the Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office saying to people, for example, who have franchises or contracts straddling 1997, that they should go to the British side, that they should go the Joint Liaison Group, which has been set up for this purpose. I think that is a very responsible, and helpful comment on this thing.
Q:
It is being said that relations between Britain and China are at a very bad stage at the moment
A:
Well, obviously there are difficulties over this constitutional package. But I don't think one should get that out of perspective. Across a whole wide range of our normal working contacts, we are still having a very good relationship, we are still discussing cross-border matters, security,
security, immigration. We have many visitors coming down from China, we are arranging courses for civil servants up in China.
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