As to the internal affairs of the territory after
14 years, these will be dealt with by the Beijing Govern-
ment and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Government in consultation.
According to well-informed sources, questions
like whether the Urban Council should continue to exist
14 years later and whether the Legislative Council should
be reformed as a Local Council are internal ones and
not the responsibility of the British Government. Except
issues involving principles, which will have to be dealt
with in consultations between Beijing Government and Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government, all other
minor issues and the day-to-day administration will be
in the hands of the people of Hong Kong so as to be in
line with the self-rule principle. The Beijing Government
will not send anyone to take up the administration of
Hong Kong.
Persons close to Beijing said, as the Beijing
Government attaches great importance to the position of Hong Kong, it thus appointed Mr. Xu Jiatun, Chairman
of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress Standing
Committee to head the Hong Kong branch of the News China
News Agency to maintain a direct link between Hong Kong
and Beijing. This arrangement is also in line with the
position of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region
directly under the central government.
Mr. Wang Kuang, previous head of the New China
News Agency, will serve as a senior consultant in Hong
Kong for the Agency.
That Sino-British talks can resume before the
general election in Britain is because of the change
in attitude of the British Government. No more is said
about the validity of the three treaties, as insisted by the British Government previously.
As to when the content of the talks will be announced,
the sources in China said that no announcement was expected
to be made this year as the issues involved are quite complex.
The Government Secretariat made a short statement
that, "As has been stated by the Governor himself, he
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