TNAG-2919-FCO40-4194-International-support-for-Hong-Kong-the-Americas--excluding--1993 — Page 24

CONFIDENTIAL

FM OTTAWA

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 401

CONFIDENTIAL

MID 021

RECE

16 NOV 1993

OFSE OFFIC

INDEA

pu

TOP COPY QDIST?

127

056337

MDHIAN 3147

OF 152206Z NOVEMBER 93

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, PEKING

INFO PRIORITY CANBERRA, WELLINGTON ·

pw.

FCO TELNO 443 TO CANBERRA: HONG KONG: INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

SUMMARY

1. ACTION TAKEN WITH DFA AND PCO. BILATERAL PLANNED BETWEEN CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER AND CHINESE PRESIDENT ON 20 NOVEMBER. OFFICIALS SAY CHRETIEN FULLY BRIEFED ON HONG KONG BUT ARE UNCERTAIN WHETHER HE WILL RAISE IT.

DETAIL

2.

WE SPOKE ON 11 NOVEMBER TO DFA AND PRIVY COUNCIL OFFICE (PCO), PASSING TO BOTH A NOTE BASED ON TUR FOR THE CANADIAN PRIME MINSTER'S BRIEFING. PCO LATER CONFIRMED THAT A BILATERAL BETWEEN CHRETIEN AND PRESIDENT JIANG ZEMIN HAS BEEN PROVISIONALLY ARRANGED FOR 20 NOVEMBER. CHRETIEN HAS BEEN BRIEFED TO RAISE HONG KONG. BUT THE PCO WERE UNABLE TO SAY WHETHER THE PRIME- MINISTER, WHO HAS BEEN IN OFFICE LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, WOULD DEFINITELY RAISE THE ISSUE AT THIS FIRST MEETING WITH THE CHINESE LEADER. THEY STRESSED THAT CHRETIEN IS STILL FEELING HIS WAY AND IS NOT ENVISAGING VERY SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSIONS IN THESE BILATERALS. THE PCO WERE HOWEVER GRATEFUL FOR OUR MATERIAL AND WE UNDERTOOK TO KEEP THEM BRIEFED ON ANY SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENTS.

COMMENT

3. CANADIAN GOVERNMENTS HAVE BY AND LARGE BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE UK POSITION ON HONG KONG. IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY WHETHER THIS WILL CONTINUE UNDER THE NEW LIBERAL GOVERNMENT BUT WE SEE NO REASON WHY IT SHOULD NOT. THE NEW DFA JUNIOR MINISTER RESPONSIBLE FOR ASIA AND PACIFIC, RAYMON CHAN FROM VANCOUVER, WILL BE IN SEATTLE. HE IS AN ETHNIC CHINESE ORIGINALLY FROM HONG KONG WHO HAS BEEN A STRONG SUPPORTER OF PRO-DEMOCRACY GROUPS IN CHINA.