CONFIDENTIAL
f.
'In setting up a special administrative region in Hong Kong, we precisely want to keep Hong Kong unchanged in many respects and to enable people in Hong Kong to carry on as now, doing business, working, living, and making money, with freedom to come and go; what is bad about being a citizen living in this special administrative region? Why should there still be many misgivings and doubts? I think that after we get back to Hong Kong, we have the responsibility to explain these truths to the compatriots in Hong Kong. The point is that, from now on, we people living in Hong Kong should carry out a whole series of preparatory work for this common objective in a thoroughly sound way, and cultivate the next generation of middle-aged and young people, younger than ourselves, to shoulder the future glorious but onerous tasks'.
He Xian (Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Macao) said: 'China will certainly recover sovereignty over Hong Kong, but the Chinese and British sides can still discuss and work out feasible measures for maintaining its prosperity. Worries over Hong Kong's future are unnecessary, as the situation in the future will become still better. China will carry out two five-year plans in the next 10 and more years and its constructions achievements will be still greater; what then is there to be afriad of when the time comes? There have been great changes in China since the Third Plenum, various policies have been effectively implemented, very great achievements have been gained in work on all fronts, and people's standards of living have gradually improved. These facts are evident to all. Any Chinese leader holding power in the future is bound to maintain the continuity of the past policies and take still more effective measures to promote the four modernizations drive and continue to improve the people's material and cultural life. We can further explain to the compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao that there is no need for wariness and misgivings. We believe that the Chinese government will certainly be able to maintain Hong Kong's prosperity while doing a good job in economic construction on the mainland. We should no longer go around hanging our heads.'
g.
At a meeting with Hong Kong representatives to the NPC and Political Consultative Conference on 25 June Deng Xiaoping said, according to Xinhua, that China would not change its policy on Hong Kong and Macao.
Deng assured the representatives that despite the death of Liao Chengzhi 'we will continue to do our work well on Hong Kong and Macao',
h.
A Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao editorial of 26 June commenting on Deng's statement said that sovereignty over Hong Kong was not negotiable, full consideration would be given to the 'interests of the people of all sectors in Hong Kong' and that 'appropriate steps would be taken to preserve prosperity both in the transitional period before sovereignty is recovered and after it had been recovered'
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CONFIDENTIAL