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The Business News of the SCMP on 29 April contained an interview with Mr. Wang who said with the full endorsement of China he planned to import technology worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Britain and Europe. He said suppliers must understand China and the equipment it needed; his two multilateral corporations (Everbright and Violight) would have world-wide subsidiaries trading and forming joint ventures with foreign companies. He asked not to be questioned about his capital as that would be challenging his background and supporters. The fact that he came when the local economy was suffering recession showed he had full confidence in HK's future. He said he was a capitalist - a patriotic one - and not a communist. China, he said, wanted to upgrade the efficiency of 3 000 items in various industries ranging from heavy to light. Mr. Wang said he would recruit local expertise, Chinese or expatriate, and was also bringing with him from Beijing a hand-picked team of commercial and economic experts.
UK Press: HK items reported in the UK press included the state of the local dollar and a story in the Financial Times which said HK was the best base in the Far East for businessmen. The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph picked up an item in the Far Eastern Economic Review which said China had already made up its mind on the future of HK: it would assume control and the British would not be required to manage its affairs. The "appointment" of Mr. Xu as head of Xinhua was reported by the Guardian.
MP calls for 1997 “re-think": The Standard on 27 April carried a report which said more than 20 leading figures in HK's administration, business and professional circles had been sent a personal copy of a House of Commons speech reflecting their views on the need for a radical rethink of Britain's approach to the 1997 negotiations. The speech was made by barrister, Mr. Ivan Lawrence, vice-chairman of the Conservative Legal Committee, who had two days of talks with prominent British expatriates and Chinese representatives of HK opinion. His assessment of their views was that if the HK Chinese were left alone for a time to discuss the future of HK with the Beijing authorities, a more practical solution, more acceptable to the financial, economic and commercial interests of HK, would evolve. He also claimed that prominent people in HK doubted the wisdom of the British government's aim to make speedy progress in the talks. It would be all very well to accept a commitment from Deng Xiaoping in 1983, but there would be no guarantee that he or his regime would be in power when the final decisions came to be made. Mr. Lawrence suggested more people from HK should visit China and more Chinese from Beijing should visit HK, as a greater understanding and willingness to compromise could result. Mr. Lawrence visited HK in January, and the Standard article, written by the paper's London correspondent, said the former Governor, Lord MacLehose, was believed to strongly disagree with his conclusions. But his unease about the structure of the Beijing negotiations was shared by MPs in other parties, including Mr. Ian Wrigglesworth, of the SDP, who said earlier this year that the negotiations were going on over the people's heads. Dr. David Owen, deputy leader of the SDP, had expressed disquiet over the lack of HK Chinese involvement in the talks. The report said Mr. Lawrence's speech represented the first open Tory doubts over the Government's handling of the HK issue.
A leader in the Standard on Sunday thanked Mr. Lawrence "for restoring our faith in the Mother of Parliaments", referring to his "sensible" call for a 1997 re-think.
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