CONFIDENTIAL
0652
MDHIAN
SAID HOW THEY WOULD PROVIDE FOR THE NEW FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES OR THE ELECTION COMMITTEE. LORD CALLAGHAN THOUGHT WE WERE IN AN IMPASSE AND THAT WE HAD FEW CARDS IN OUR HANDS. WE WOULD NEED TO DEVISE SOME WAY TO SAVE CHINESE FACE.
4. LORD CALLAGHAN SAID THAT HE WOULD NOT EXPECT ME TO COMMENT ON, OR AGREE WITH, WHAT HE WAS SAYING BUT HE FELT WE HAD NOT HANDLED THE QUESTION OF THE ELECTIONS VERY CLEVERLY. I SAID THAT WE WERE NOW INVOLVED IN TALKS AND THAT I THOUGHT THAT THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP PROBABLY WANTED TO MAKE A SUCCESS OF THEM. THE GOVERNOR WAS PREPARED TO SHOW FLEXIBILITY ONCE WE GOT DOWN TO THE DISCUSSION OF PRACTICAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE ELECTIONS. THE TRICK WOULD BE TO GET THE CHINESE TO MOVE ON TO THAT PHASE AND AWAY FROM DEBATE ABOUT PRINCIPLES WHICH WAS BOUND TO BE STERILE. IF LORD CALLAGHAN COULD TELL JIANG ZEMIN THAT PROGRESS WAS MORE LIKELY TO BE MADE THROUGH DETAILED DISCUSSION THAN THROUGH GENERAL ARGUMENTS THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. LORD CALLAGHAN APPEARED SCEPTICAL BUT SAID HE WOULD DO THIS.
COMMENT
5. GIVEN HIS VIEWS, LORD CALLAGHAN SEEMS TO HAVE SPOKEN ON GENERALLY HELPFUL LINES. IN PARTICULAR HE CLEARLY MADE THE POINT ABOUT GETTING AWAY FROM GENERAL ARGUMENTS AND MOVING ON TO SPECIFICS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO INTERPRET JIANG ZEMIN'S RESPONSE: HIS LENGTHY REFERENCES TO SIR P CRADOCK'S DECEMBER 1989 VISIT AND THE MESSAGE FROM THE THEN PRIME MINISTER WHICH SIR P CRADOCK DELIVERED ON THAT OCCASION SEEM ANECDOTAL RATHER THAN GERMANE TO THE CURRENT TALKS. BUT HIS REMARKS ABOUT THE TALKS THEMSELVES, AND THE OPTIMISM HE EXPRESSED ABOUT REACHING A SOLUTION ARE MILDLY ENCOURAGING.
6.
? Y
THE REFERENCE IN PARA 2 OF MIFT TO THE 'ANGLO-CHINESE FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY'' SHOULD PROBABLY BE TO THE GREAT BRITAIN CHINA CENTRE.
7.
SEE MIFT.
MCLAREN
YYYY
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