TNAG-2861-FCO40-4115-Expulsion-of-Han-Dongfang--Chinese-dissident--from-China-to--1993 — Page 42

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MDHIAN 3000

12. ZHAO CONCLUDED BY SAYING HE HAD TAKEN NOTE OF MY REMARKS THAT THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS DID NOT WISH TO BE INVOLVED IN THE HAN DONGFANG AFFAIR AND THAT WE WISHED TO HANDLE IT QUIETLY. THE CHINESE SIDE HOPED THAT THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD ILLUSTRATE ITS WORDS WITH DEEDS.

13. ON ZHAO'S TWO POINTS I REPEATED, FIRST, THAT IF THIS WAS AN

BUT IT INTERNAL AFFAIR FOR CHINA IT SHOULD BE HANDLED INTERNALLY. HAD BEEN HANDLED IN A WAY WHICH INVOLVED HONG KONG THROUGH NO WISH OF THE BRITISH AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENTS. SECOND, ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO DIRECT CONNECTION BETWEEN THE HAN DONGFANG AFFAIR AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT FOR HONG KONG PEOPLE, IT WAS A FACT THAT THE WAY IT HAD BEEN HANDLED HAD AROUSED CONCERN AMONG HONG KONG PEOPLE ABOUT THIER FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT AFTER 1997. I ADDED THAT AT THE GOVERNOR'S PRESS CONFERENCE HE HAD NOT VOLUNTEERED ANY STATEMENTS ABOUT HAN DONGFANG. HE HAD BEEN QUESTIONED AND HAD BEEN OBLIGED TO RESPOND. I BELIEVED THAT HIS RESPONSES HAD BEEN ENTIRELY JUSTIFIED GIVEN THE WAY THE AFFAIR HAD BEEN HANDLED BY THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES. AS REGARDS ZHAO'S POINT THAT HAN DONGFANG'S ENTRY INTO CHINA WAS A DELIBERATE ACT MANIPULATED BY PEOPLE IN HONG KONG, I SAID I KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THAT. HOWEVER, I KNEW THAT UNDER RECENTLY AGREED ARRANGEMENTS, HAN HAD NOT REQUIRED A VISA WHEN TRANSITTING HONG KONG ON HIS WAY TO CHINA, SO THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAD NOT BEEN AWARE OF HIS PRESENCE IN THE TERRITORY.

14.

ZHAO SAID HE COULD NOT AGREE WITH MY POINTS. THE CHINESE POSITION WAS VERY CLEAR. THE WAY THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD REPLIED TO PRESS QUESTIONS HAD INCITED DISCONTENT WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. HIS REPLIES HAD NOT BEEN JUSTIFIED.

15.

I SAID I DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD SAID ANYTHING WHICH HAD CAUSED DISCONTENT WITH THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ABOUT THEIR HANDLING OF THE HAN DONGFANG CASE. UNFORTUNATELY THE DISCONTENT HAD ALREADY BEEN THERE.

COMMENT

16. A PREDICTABLE EXCHANGE. ZHAO LOOKED A BIT UNCOMFORTABLE IN MAKING SOME OF HIS POINTS AND UNCHARACTERISTICALLY SHOWED NO DISPOSITION TO PROLONG THE EXCHANGE.

MCLAREN

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