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FM HONG KONG 323443Z JUL 33
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELEGRAM NUMBER 337 OF 2 JULY
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REGISTRY Action Taken
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INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PEKING, WASHINGTON (FOR HK GOVT REP), CG NEW YORK (FOR HK GOVT REP), UKMIS GENEVA (FOR HK GOVT REP), BRUSSELS (FOR HK GOVT REP)
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE OF JOINT STATEMENT.
THE JOINT STATEMENT WAS FRONT PAGE NEWS IN ALL THREE ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS, IN ALL THE COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS AND MOST OF THE MORE SERIOUS INDEPENDENT CHINESE LANGUAGE PAPERS ON 2 JULY. IT HAS ALSO BEEN THE LEAD STORY ON T.V. AND RADIO NEWS BULLETINS SINCE LAST NIGHT. ALL PAPERS ALSO REPORTED PROMINENTLY THAT THE GOVERNOR WILL ATTEND THE TALKS BEGINNING ON 12 JULY. THE AGREED FORMULATION FOR USE IN ANSWER TO QUESTIONS WAS ALSO CARRIED IN FULL BY MOST NEWSPAPERS TOGETHER WITH AN ASSORTMENT OF NEWS AGENCY REPORTS FROM LONDON AND PEKING QUOTING SIMILAR ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS GIVEN BY SPOKESMEN AT THE FCO, THE BRITISH EMBASSY AND THE CHINESE MFA. ONE OR TWO NEWSPAPERS CARRIED, WITH NO GREAT PROMINENCE, A REUTERS REPORT FROM PEKING QUOTING DIPLOMATIC SOURCES HERE AND IN LONDON'' SAYING THAT BRITAIN AND CHINA HAD BEEN SEEKING A FRAMEWORK OF UNDERSTANDING OVER CHINA'S INTENTION TO RESUME SOVEREIGNTY OVER ALL OF THE TINY BUT WEALTHY BRITISH COLONY ON CHINA'S SOUTHERN TIP.'
2. ALL PAPERS SOUGHT REACTIONS FROM THE USUAL SELECTION OF PUBLIC FIGURES AND ACADEMICS. THEY UNAMIMOUSLY WELCOMED THE ANNOUNCEMENT AS A SIGN THAT THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE ENTERING A SUBSTANTIVE PHASE AND SAID THAT THIS REPRESENTED A MAJOR STEP FORWARD. THE GOVERNOR'S PARTICIPATION WAS ALSO WELCOMED. A NUMBER OF COMMENTATORS SAID THAT ALTHOUGH FORMALLY PART OF THE BRITISH TEAM HE WOULD BE ABLE TO REFLECT THE VIEWS OF HONG KONG PEOPLE. OF THOSE INTERVIEWED ONLY ONE OR TWO SUGGESTED THAT THE ANNOUNCEMENT MEANT THAT QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY MIGHT HAVE ALREADY BEEN RESOLVED. MOST PROMINENT AMONGST THESE WERE MR HO SAI-CHU AND MR T.K. ANN, BOTH OF WHOM WERE DELEGATES TO THE CPPCC. THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (SCMP), IN A SUBSIDIARY ARTICLE, REVIEWED THE RECENT SPATE OF RUMOURS THAT BRITAIN MIGHT HAVE CONCEDED SOVEREIGNTY AND RECALLED THAT THE HONG KONG AND BRITISH GOVERNMENTS HAD DISMISSED THESE STORIES ALTHOUGH THE SUGGESTION HAD NOT BEEN EXPLICITLY DENIED.
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