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Courses for civil servants: The Oriental Daily News reported that the Government had recently placed advertisements locally and overseas to recruit teaching staff to run training courses for senior civil servants. It speculated that the courses were organised to prepare "HK people to govern HK". This was denied by a Civil Service Branch spokesman.
HK Belongers' Association: Mr. Kenneth Mok, president, said the question of 1997 was looming larger each day and every issue concerning HK would have political overtones in future. At the Association's annual meeting on 28 March he said what the Association could do within its constitution was to generate opinions on the question of 1997 so that hopefully people's wishes would receive due consideration from both London and Beijing so that HK's prosperity and stability could be maintained. He said this year might be a crucial year and we should measure and watch our steps to be in tune with the developments. Mr. Mok was re-elected president; Mr. Sze Chu-sian vice-chairman; Mr. Walter Yeung secretary; and Mr. Leonard Chiu treasurer.
Work on N-plant: The Chinese Minister of Water Conservancy and Power, Mr. Qian Zhengying, said the construction of a nuclear power station in Guangdong would begin by the end of the year.
Students repeat stance: Wen Wei Po and the Centre Daily News reported that the Federation of Hong Kong Students had reiterated that Hong Kong was part of Chinese territory and that it was strongly opposed to the three unequal treaties governing the territory, At its 25th general meeting, the federation urged the authorities concerned to sound out the public on the 1997 issue and to take the interests of the grassroots into account.
Closer economic ties: The Minister of Foreign Economic Affairs, Madam Chen Muhua, said China was aware that closer economic ties with Hong Kong and Macau would assist Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. In an interview with a left-wing magazine, the Economic Reporter, Madam Chen said China would continue to provide supplies to Hong Kong and Macau.
Ten
en_years imprisonment: The Hong Kong Times reported that a Hong Kong resident, Mr. Lau San-ching, had been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in Guangzhou without trial. He was arrested in December 1981 when he visited families of members of China's democratic
movement who were under detention in Guangzhou.
The Wedge Column: In this column which appeared in the SCMP on 31 March, David Pyott wrote that it was good to know our Governor was now more closely involved in those 1997 talks than he had at first been apparently allowed to bc. There could be little doubt that we trusted our Governor more than we trusted the UK Government. It was still a pity vis-a-vis the people of HK that the Governor was unable to say anything, gagged as he was by the UK Government's insistence on confidentiality.
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