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6. REACTION IN THE INDEPENDENT PRESS TO THE STATEMENTS BY JI PENGFEI, XU JIATUN AND PENG ZHEN HAS BEEN MIXED. SOME COMMENT HAS BEEN CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC. THE ORIENTAL DAILY CONSIDERED THAT JI PENGFEI HAD DISPLAYED A KEENER UNDERSTANDING OF THE ANXIETIES OF HONG KONG RESIDENTS. THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, MING PAO AND SING PO ALL REPORTED COMMENTS FROM LEGCO UNOFFICAL, ALLEN LEE, WHO SAID THAT PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ALARMED BY OR OVER-SENSITIVE TO THE
NEWS THAT CHINA WAS PREPARING A MINI-CONSTITUTION FOR HONG KONG.
WHATEVER THE OUTCOME OF THE TALKS, A CONSTITUTION FOR HONG KONG
WOULD BE NEEDED.
7. THERE HAS ALSO BEEN MORE CRITICAL COMMENT IN THE INDEPENDENT PRESS. IN ITS EDITORIAL TODAY, MING PAO SAID THAT CHINA'S ASSURANCES WERE BASICALLY IN KEEPING WITH WHAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WANTED, BUT THERE WAS NO GUARANTEE THAT THINGS WOULD NOT CHANGE. FIRMER ASSURANCE WOULD BE GIVEN IF THE MINI-CONSTIT- UTION FOR HONG KONG WAS WRITTEN INTO THE MAIND STATE CONSTITUTION. BUT EVEN THIS WOULD PROVIDE NO CAST-IRON GUARANTEE. WA KIU MAN PO'S EDITORIAL YESTERDAY QUESTIONED HOW THE LIKELY CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THE MINI-AND STATE CONSTITUTIONS COULD BE RESOLVED. THE FINANCIAL DAILY ARGUED THAT TALK OF A MINI-CONSTITUTION WAS DESIGNED TO DENY ANY ROLE FOR BRITAIN IN A MATTER ENTIRELY WITHIN CHINA'S JURISDICTION. HOWEVER, LOCAL RESIDENTS LACK OF FAITH IN THE HONG KONG PEOPLE TO RULE HONG KONG'' FORMULA WAS BECAUSE CHINA'S CONSTITUTION HAD BEEN RE-WRITTEN SO MAY TIMES. THE EXPRESS (RIGHT WING) REGARDED PENG ZHEN'S STATEMENT AS DECEPTION. WHATEVER THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT INITIALLY CHOSEN BY A SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE
REGION, SOCIALISM WOULD INEVITABLY BE IMPOSED.
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9. SUNDAY'S ECONOMIC JOURNAL (INDEPENDENT) CARRIED A WELL ARGUED ARTICLE WRITTEN (UNDER A PSEUDONYM) BY LAU NAGAI-KEUNG, THE CHAIRMAN OF MEETING POINT. ALTHOUGH LAU WELCOMED THE IDEA OF A MINI-CONSTITUTION HE SAID THAT IT SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF AN OPINION POLL. THE CONSTITUTION SHOULD ALSO SPELL OUT THE RELATION- SHIP OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO AN SAR AND DEFINE THE LIMITS OF INTERVENTION BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. AN ARTICLE ALONG SIMILAR LINES IN THE SAME NEWSPAPER ARGUED THAT A MORE PRECISE LEGAL
DEFINITION OF AN SAR WAS NEEDED.
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