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increasing the power of the Assembly. Xi and his entourage were, however, careful to avoid any specific reference to this problem, although constant emphasis on the Chinese wish to see stability in Macau and have nothing happen which might damage relations between Peking and Lisbon will have been taken, rightly, as an indirect reference to the Assembly question.
5.
While in Macau, Xi had discussions with the Governor and other Government officials. We do not yet have any details. Nor does the Portugese Consul-General here. I have been told by the NCNA, however, that they discussed increasing the water supply from China; building a power generating station across the border in China to supply Macau; and improving the road from Macau to Guangzhou by means of using Portugese expertise to build three large bridges across tributaries of the Pearl River where at present there are only ferries. As the NCNA put it, these discussions were in general rather than specific terms. Clearly a good deal of follow-up is needed before any agree- ments are reached. I suspect that it will be particularly difficult to reach agreement on improving the road since, as in the case of the proposed dual carriageway road from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, it is no simple matter to find a means for paying back foreign exchange expenditure on bridges. In public Xi spoke of Guangdong's wish to co-operate in all possible ways to promote the stability and development of Macau.
6.
During his visit, Xi made some interesting remarks about the status of Macau and, by analogy, Hong Kong. He said that there had been rumours in the Taiwan and Hong Kong press that China was going to take back Hong Kong and Macau. People should not believe such rumours. As reported in the local Communist Da Gong Bao (which did not give this piece of preliminary background), Xi then went on to say "Hong Kong and Macau are actually both special zones; the historical status quo should be maintained and they should continue in stability and prosperity ..... Macau is China's territory. However, China is so large, why should we not allow the existence of some special zones? Are we not currently engaged in organising economic special zones? He then went on to link this thesis to Taiwan by saying that: "When in future Taiwan returns to the Motherland, it too will be a special zone; sovereignity will belong to China but the methods applied can be flexible" (I am enclosing a copy of the original Chinese text for you and Peking only). These remarks should, I think, be seen as part of a pattern of generally reassuring, but non specific, comments about the status of both Hong Kong and Macau. They have been taken as such by the local press.
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