TNAG-2801-FCO40-4041-Hong-Kong-six-monthly-meetings-of-foreign-ministers-1993 — Page 8

香港總督府

GOVERNMENT HOUSE HONG KONG

VIA FAX

CONFIDENTIAL

1 October 1993

Deen Christopher,

Secretary of State's Meeting with Olan: Press Brief

Thank you for faxing us the draft of the Secretary of State's statement to the Press and your defensive points.

The Governor has seen these and is very happy with them. In particular, he is content for the Secretary of State to be as clear as he is in the draft about timing and the possibility that we might have to press ahead unilaterally. He would be very happy for all the sections in square brackets to be used.

The Governor suggests three additions to the statement. First, he would like the Secretary of State to make the point that the argument with the Chinese turns not on the pace of democracy, which is agreed, but on whether the elections in 1995 should be fair and credible. Perhaps this could be done by inserting after the third paragraph the following:

"It is not the pace of democracy that is in dispute. The argument turns on whether the elections should be fair and credible."

Secondly, the Governor suggests adding the following after the second sentence of the fourth tiret of the existing draft:

"Hong Kong people expect us to go the extra mile. We are prepared to do so."

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