TNAG-2919-FCO40-4194-International-support-for-Hong-Kong-the-Americas--excluding--1993 — Page 36

MINISTER

COUNSELLOR

MS ROGAN

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House, Hong Kong

Mr Ricketts, HKD, FCO

CONVERSATION WITH MR JOE CLARK, CANADIAN CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS MINISTER

574

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1. Mr Clark, the former Canadian External Affairs Minister, and currently Minister for Constitutional Affairs, has been visiting China for the last few days. His Peking programme included calls on Li Peng and Qian Qichen. At Canadian request, I went to see him at the Canadian Embassy this morning. The Canadian Ambassador and the Head of the China Desk at the External Affairs Ministry in Ottawa were also present.

2.

At Mr Clark's invitation, I gave an account of our recent exchanges with the Chinese about the Governor's proposals for the 1994/95 elections. I explained where matters now stood and also set out the background frankly and in some detail. As regards future prospects, I said that talks were still possible but not in my judgement particularly likely. Even if we had talks it would be very difficult to achieve agreement, both because of differences between the two sides on the substance and because the Chinese would be trying to string things out while we would be operating under political pressures from Hong Kong. It was therefore likely that the legislative process in Hong Kong would continue. The most favourable scenario thereafter which I could envisage would be that the Chinese would see that the outcome of the Legco debate was not too bad from their point of view; that they would effectively ring fence the political/constitutional area and confine their "second stove" to that; and that they would resume grudging cooperation in other areas. I added that external factors, in particular the Chinese wish to avoid MFN conditions, to join GATT, and to win the Olympic Games for Peking might have some restraining effect over the next six months or so.

3.

Mr Clark said that Hong Kong had come up in his discussions with Qian Qichen and Li Peng. He had made it clear that he himself wished neither to advertise or modify the Canadian position as set out by his Prime Minister, but he stressed the very strong Canadian interest in Hong Kong for both current and historic reasons, while making it clear that Canada had no intention of becoming a third party to the dispute. He also sought to persuade his interlocutors of the advantages of moving away from megaphone diplomacy. The Canadian Ambassador commented that both Li and Qian had agreed megaphone diplomacy was 16 APR 1993

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