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A few papers
including the Hong Kong Daily News, the Oriental Daily News
- said Mr. Ho linked the upsurge in juvenile crime and the Hong Kong Commercial Daily to the question of the New Territories lease. The lack of confidence in the territory's future had prompted parents to concentrate on material pursuits and many of them failed to provide good care and guidance for their children, Mr. Ho argued.
Press Treatment
Mr. Ho's speech was carried as the back page lead in the left-wing Wen Wei Po and an inside page lead in the Hong Kong Daily News. Five other papers - the Express, Wah Kiu Yat Po, Ming Pao, Kung Sheung Daily News and the Hong Kong Commercial Daily accorded the story either moderate or routine coverage while Sing Tao Jih Pao, the Oriental Daily News and the Hong Kong Economic Journal incorporated it in their reports on an optimistic statement by shipping magnate Sir Yue-kong Pao on Hong Kong's future.
The papers played up different aspects of Mr. Ho's speech. In headlines, the Oriental Daily News, Ming Pao and the Hong Kong Daily News emphasised Mr. Ho's statement that China and Britain should take action now to guarantee the territory's future. The Express said Mr. Ho was pressing the two Governments for an assurance in black and white.
Wen Wei Po's report on Mr. Ho's speech was confined only to Hong Kong's role in China's modernisation drive. The paper high-lighted in headlines Mr. Ho's remarks that the setting up of a special economic zone in Shenzhen had opened up new scope for Hong Kong's economic activities. In a sub-headline, the paper said Mr. Ho felt that the Shenzhen authorities had overlooked the potentials of small syndicates here while trying to woo foreign investors.
According to Wah Kiu, Wen Wei and the Hong Kong Daily News, Mr. Ho also touched on the proposed relaxation to the rent control laws in the same speech. His approval for the new rent ceiling was carried in separate reports in Sing Tao Jih Pao, Ming Pao and Ta Kung Pao.