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Wen Wei Po reported prominently that the Chinese University Students' Union issued a statement to support China's sovereignty claim over Hong Kong, saying it would strive to educate its members to understand China better. In an editorial, Wen Wei Po commended the student union for holding fast to the stand of Chinese people. Students' concern about the territory's future would work to the advantage of Hong Kong's prosperity.
Earlier in the week, Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po highlighted in their headlines that the run on the Banco Luso internacional in Macau was ended as result of support by the Bank of China.
In the right wing press, the HK Times put the blame on the question of HK's future for the slump in the property market.
Commenting on democracy in HK, the New HK Institute in an article in Wen Wei Po said the 1997 question would act as a catalyst to democratic reforms in HK. If the future Chinese Government in HK preserved the existing political structure, the same old problems of the present system would remain and the public would lose their faith. On the contrary, if it could introduce democracy in HK to take care of the people's interest, it would gain more support and long term stability. The Wen Wei Po editorial, also on 3 March, restated that China's stand on sovereignty was unequivocal. HK was indisputably part of Chinese territory. What was to be discussed at the negotiating table was how Britain should hand over sovereignty and how prosperity should be maintained. The more orderly the handover, the more stable the HK situation would become.
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DETAILS OF SARS BEING THRASHED OUT:
In an exclusive report dated 7 March, the Financial Daily, quoting sources from Beijing, reported that details on Article 31 were being worked out by legal experts. They would be tabled for discussion at the 6th NPC, which the paper suggested would be held in April or May. The proposals, in the form of a bill, would give SARS statutory powers to enact their own laws to fit the local context. The laws might be distinct from those prevailing in the rest of China and might even be modelled on British law. The article said that they would not be subject to the policies of the Chinese Government. The sources also disclosed that the existing judicial system would remain more or less unchanged in the future SAR for Hong Kong, though appeals would no longer be to the Privy Council.
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VIEWS OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
The cover story in the March issue of the Seventies magazine was about Administrative Officers in the Government. It interviewed the Secretary for District Administration, Mr. David Akers-Jones; the Deputy Secretary for Transport, Mr. Michael Suen; the Shatin District Officer, Mr. Donald Tsang; and a Principal Assistant Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr. Mayer Ng, who spoke of the role of AOs and their views on HK's future. One of the articles said it was possible that the first chief administrator on reversion of sovereignty to China would be an AO, because he must have the following:
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