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Of the independent papers, Sing Pao expressed concern that some factories might lay off workers in order to be eligible for the scheme; Oriental Daily News also called on the Government to provide assistance to industry, while Tin Tin Daily News said the scheme should be extended to cover the commercial sector as well.
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AIRPORT PLAN DROPPED:
The Financial Secretary announced at a press conference on 25 February that the Government had decided not to go ahead with the plan to build the replacement airport at Chek Lap Kok. He said the decision was made purely because it was not financially viable and had nothing to do with the 1997 issue. He did not rule out the possibility of building an airport jointly with China but added that so far there had been no contact between the two sides. Most papers used the story as their leads, but the left-wing Ta Kung Pao and Ching Pao only accorded it routine coverage.
Left-wing papers have so far not commented on the announcement, but the decision has been generally endorsed by independent and right-wing papers as well as the public.
Wah Kiu Yat Po, Oriental Daily News and Express described it as a step in the right direction in the present economic climate. Wah Kiu and Oriental Daily agreed that the provision of social services had priority over a replacement airport, while the Express said the plan was a white elepant in an economic slump. The HK Economic Journal said it was a responsible decision economically and politically, though it called into doubt Britain's interest in HK after 1997. A number of papers endorsed the idea of the Government building the replacement airport in Deep Bay in a joint venture with China. However, Tin Tin Daily News said the Government would raise funds for the project if it decided to go ahead. It expressed worry that other public projects might be shelved as well.
In their reports, the papers also carried public reaction, mainly from academics. Professor Peter Harris and Dr. Edward Chen agreed that the project was economically not viable in view of the massive works involved. Dr. Joseph Cheng (CU) also found the decision acceptable and hoped the authorities would promptly come up with an alternative plan. However, Mr. McGregor of the General Chamber of Commerce and Mr. C.K. Leung of HKU said the delay in building a replacement airport would inevitably cost more in the long term.
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WHAT THE LEFT-WING PAPERS SAY:
During the Lunar New Year period, over 500 000 HK residents went to China and the Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao seized the opportunity to point out that people in China were enjoying greater freedom of choice and a higher living standard. Both started a column entitled "What one hears and sees in his home village" containing interviews with people on their return from China. Three of these articles, purportedly written by China visitors, said people in China were getting more affluent under the incentive of "one earns more if he works hard". One story said half the households in the writer's home village had TV sets, while the majority were furnished with sofas, dining tables and cupboards. New houses had also sprung up. The second story said since the fall of the Gang of Four intellectuals had returned to their original posts in education, research and hospitals. They were given pay rises
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