TNAG-2927-FCO40-4202-Visits-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-C-1993 — Page 38

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INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG

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FOR HKD AND FED

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YOUR TEL NO 178 AND HONG KONG TEL NO 451: SECRETARY OF STATE'S VISIT TO THE FAR EAST: PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT

CHINESE

1. HONG KONG JOURNALISTS HAVE CONTINUED TO PRESS OFFICIALS (AND US) FOR NEWS OF THE NEXT MEETING BETWEEN FOREIGN MINISTERS. VICE FOREIGN MINISTER TIAN ZENGPEI'S REMARK REFERRING TO HIS HOPE THAT SUCH A MEETING WOULD TAKE PLACE IN PEKING, REPORTED IN HONG KONG (CF HONG KONG TEL NO 443 PARA 6) BUT NOT HERE, WERE PROBABLY A STRAIGHT-BAT REPLY TO SUCH QUESTIONS. THE SENSITIVITY OF THE ISSUE IS SHOWN BY THE PUBLICATION ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE CHINA DAILY ON 22 MARCH OF AN MFA SPOKEMAN'S DENIAL THAT TIAN WAS CALLING FOR AN EARLY MEETING. ACCORDING TO THE SPOKESMAN HE WAS ONLY REFERRING TO THE AIRPORT MOU PROVISIONS: AS FOR SINO-BRITISH TALKS ON THE HONG KONG POLITICAL STRUCTURE, THE POINT WAS NOT WHETHER THE CHINESE SIDE WAS WILLING BUT THAT THE BRITISH SIDE HAD UNDERMINED THE BASIS FOR DISCUSSION,

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FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN QICHEN ANSWERED A QUESTION ON THIS POINT AT HIS NPC PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY, 23 MARCH (SEE SEPARATE TELEGRAM). HE SAID THAT THE CONDITIONS FOR SUCH A MEETING (IE BETWEEN FOREIGN MINISTERS) WERE OBVIOUSLY NOT RIGHT BECAUSE TALKS HAD NOT STARTED.

3. CHINESE OFFICIALS HAVE CAREFULLY AVOIDED ASKING US ABOUT THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S PROGRAMME OR PLANS, EVEN AFTER MR HURD MADE AN OBLIQUE REFERENCE TO THE MEETING IN HIS MESSAGE TO QIAN QICHEN WHICH I DELIVERED ON 6 FEBRUARY (''I HOPE .. THAT BY THE TIME WE NEXT MEET REAL PROGRESS WILL HAVE BEEN MADE IN RESOLVING OUR PRESENT DIFFICULTIES'') A REFERENCE WHICH QIAN PARAPHRASED IN HIS PRESS CONFERENCE RESPONSE TODAY. NOR HAVE THEY REACTED TO THE NEWS THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE WILL BE VISITING JAPAN.

THERE MAY BE DIVIDED VIEWS ON THE CHINESE SIDE ABOUT A MEETING BETWEEN FOREIGN MINISTERS. SOME MIGHT SEE SUCH A MEETING AS BEING

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