2. I do not think that HMG should sign this MOU. I think there should be a MOU solely between the Hong Kong Government and the two Organisations which would replace the MOU between the Organisations, HMG and the CPG. The Hong Kong Government has the capacity to enter into such an MOU, especially as all the matters covered therein are in practice matters for Hong Kong and it alone should do so. This would have the effect that any liability would solely be that of the Hong Kong Government. There does not seem to be a need for the Memorandum on the provision of services whereby the Hong Kong Government delegates to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority responsibility for the obligations in that Memorandum; but this is a matter for the Hong Kong Government. The UK's and PRC's roles should be confined to issuing letters of support for the meetings.
3.
It should be made clear in the UK letter that the UK is simply giving political support for the Hong Kong Government's bid for this meeting as it is the member of the IMF and the IBRD, not Hong Kong. The PRC is, of course, standing in place of the unborn HKSAR, but again I think the chief function of its letter is similar to the UK's letter, namely to provide political support as the PRC will be the member responsible for Hong Kong after 1997. Various points of detail also arise on the PRC's letter. For example, at present it provides that the PRC will be the host country in 1997; in fact,
in fact, it is Hong Kong that is hosting the meetings and this sentence should be omitted. References to matters within Hong Kong Government's autonomy before and after 1997 such as clearance of customs should also be deleted from the letter. Reference to visas are trickier since, although the issue of visas is within the autonomy of the Hong Kong Government before and after 1997, I understand that we have already sold the pass in conceding some time ago that diplomatic (IMF/IBRD visas would be akin to these) visas were the concern of the PRC post 1997.
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Shelagh Brooks.
Shelagh Brooks
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