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The left-wing New Evening Post said the confidence expressed by the Governor on the outcome of the talks was convincing and should not be regarded as boastful. The TV interview was designed to give the official stance on the progress of the talks. His remark that the talks were proceeding and moving in the right direction were well based. This was borne out by his reply to a question on what flag would HK be flying in the future.
The Oriental Daily News said Sir Edward's remarks were very pragmatic. We would rather have a Governor who was discrete in his statements than one who was boastful. Sir Edward's statement gave the impression that Britain wanted to adhere to its principle of not making inappropriate statements at the inopportune moment to avoid unnecessary complications.
The HK Daily News said the Governor's remarks implied that a solution could be worked out in the Sino-British talks to allow the present Government and systems to continue here well after 1997. His statement, which emphasised the wishes of local people without any reference to the question of sovereignty and administrative control, was most fitting.
The right-wing Kung Sheung Daily News also agreed that Sir Edward's statement was pragmatic. He had talked diplomatically without making any high-flying remarks. The paper noted that Sir Edward's pragmatic approach suited the present situation and hoped he would draw up new plans to meet present needs as well as the big demands in the years ahead rather than carrying out Lord MacLehose's programmes which were designed for the heydays.
Wah Kiu Yat Po said people who were concerned about the 1997 question might feel the Governor's statement was not definitive. The paper noted that the Governor reiterated that a settlement acceptable to Britain, China and the people of HK would be reached, and hoped that progress would be made in 1983. Such a statement should be regarded as an interim report from the Governor which was quite reassuring.
The SCMPost said editorially on 23 May that Sir Edward's assurance that the talks on HK's future were moving in the right direction was a clear statement of fact: this simply meant that both sides were committed to getting the best deal possible for themselves and, in the process, for the people of HK. China by now realised that however much stress it gave to regaining sovereignty it must retain the strongest economic features of a free enterprise society.
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