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The Centre Daily News viewed the "three-legged table" analogy made by Lord Belstead during his visit to HK as an indication that Britain might have made an important decision on the HK issue. This suggested that Britain was in favour of allowing HK people to have a greater say in their own prospects, or even direct participation in the diplomatic talks.
11.
OPTIMISTIC VIEWS:
Optimism was expressed in some quarters that a settlement might be reached soon. The editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Mr. Derek Davies, told RTHK that he believed the voice of pragmatists in Beijing and London had won through and the way had been cleared for an agreeemnt between the two sides. He said the battle had been won in London by the Foreign Office, whose attitude towards the 1997 question was in sharp contrast with Mrs. Thatcher's, who based her case on the legality of the treaties. He surmised that, with internal obstacles cleared away, the diplomatic talks could now proceed on a firmer position and that an agreement might be reached.
The executive director of the HK General Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Jimmy McGregor, told a luncheon meeting on 11 January that local residents were now getting over their worries about the future since they knew there would not be any changes before
1997. He was confident that China and Britain would issue some sort of statement on the
negotiations towards the end of the year.
Optimism was also expressed by some papers. The Express said a more pragmatic and cordial atmosphere was recently discerned. Under the common goal of maintaining HK's prosperity and stability, an agreement should not be hard to come by. Ming Pao said. despite the fact that no substantial progress had been disclosed in the Sino-British talks, the assertion by Mr. Liao Chengzhi that the ball was in the British court showed that the dialogue was continuing and there was room for compromise. Compared with the Sino-American talks on textiles and the Sino-Soviet contact on rapprochement, the Sino-British negotiations held the best prospects. In an editorial entitled "HK question is getting more optimistic”, the left-wing Tin Tin Daily News said Britain had remained silent on statements made by Chinese leaders on regaining sovereignty. This might indicate that Britain had changed its attitude and tacitly admitted China's sovereignty claim. On the other hand, Beijing might agree to discuss when the time would be ripe to take over HK if Britain did not insist on the question of sovereignty. Mr. Jenkin's trip to China also gave rise to optimism because Britain and China would not be so keen to cement a trade deal should the diplomatic talks
hit snags.
In an interview with RTHK, Mr. Kent Price of Citibank said he believed HK would be allowed to continue with very much the same economic system after 1997. He was told by the visiting delegation from the All-China Federation of Trade Unions that people working and living in HK would run this territory in the future, be they Chinese or British. The
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