From the Private Secretary
CONFIDENTIAL
ET MON
10 DOWNING STREET
LONDON SW1A 2AA
12 November 1993
I said that I would be sending you a short note about Hong Kong. I had hoped to use the new confidential fax link which is being set up between our offices. However, I am told that this will not begin to operate for another month. I am therefore asking our Embassy to pass this letter on to you.
I know that the Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, has written to the Chancellor about the situation in Hong Kong, and that Nigel Broomfield has discussed with you the sort of points which it would be helpful for the Chancellor to get across to his Chinese hosts on the Hong Kong problem.
I thought that you might also find it useful to have a personal account of the conclusions reached at a review of our strategy in the talks which the Prime Minister held here with Chris Patten and Douglas Hurd earlier this week.
The background is that there have recently been some signs of movement in our difficult and complex negotiations with the Chinese Government about electoral arrangements in Hong Kong. In particular, the prospect has opened up that we may be able to reach an interim agreement in the next few weeks dealing with the more urgent issues. The Prime Minister's meeting concluded that we should now move on to a more intensive phase of the negotiations and as a first priority try to reach an interim agreement by early December. It was agreed that if we could achieve that, it would give us a little more time (but not much) to concentrate on the more difficult issues. The gap here remains wide, and we would need a great deal more flexibility from the Chinese side if we are to reach an agreement.
We are frankly not yet clear whether the Chinese leadership are willing to accept election arrangements which are open, fair and not subject to manipulation from Peking. It was agreed that this should remain our objective
CONFIDENTIAL
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