CODE 18-77
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Reference
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1.
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Mr Luce's Press Conference was the main story in the Hong Kong press on 29 September, but reaction to his visit was fairly muted and there was little editorial comment. papers, however, saw the visit as a boost to confidence and urged Britain and China to agree on measures to restore confidence in the Future.
2. The Hong Kong Communist Press initially gave largely factual reports, although one newspaper commented that the visit was part of Britain's tactic of playing'the public opinion card', while another criticised Mr Luce's reference to the unhelpful nature of China's public statements.
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3. In Peking, 'Xinhua' did not report the press conference until 2 October when it commented that Mr Luce was 'posing as a representative of the people of Hong Kong' and making a threat by saying that turbulence could ensure if the talks failed. 3 October the agency carried the text of an interview with a Foreign Minist spokesman. Commenting on references to Hong Kong made by the Prime Minister on 23 September and by Mr Luce at his press conference, the spokesman referred to 'responsible personnel of the British Government talking improperly about the Future of Hong Kong. He added that inappropriate remarks made by British leaders could not lead to a reasonable solution to the question, but served to make the talks more difficult.
4. These statements from Peking received prominent coverage in all Hong Kong newspapers on 4 October.
The Communist press emphasised that 'sincere and cooperative' attitudes were the way to achieve positive results at an early date in the talks.
5 October 1983
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B Williams
Hong Kong Department