RESTIMATED
RECUVE
GR 1100
RESTRICTED
DESKBY 220200Z
FM HONG KONG 22031OZ APR 34
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELEGRAM NUMBER 1101 OF 22 APRIL
HACK 027/2
NDEGISTRY
2 5 APR 1984
DESK UT
INDEX
299
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PEKING INFO ROUTINE HK GOVT REPS WASHINGTON, CG NEW YORK, BRUSSELS UKMIS GENEVA
RESIDENT CLERK PLEASE PASS TO PS/MR LUCE.
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE.
SUMMARY
大
PA
5/5 aut fli
Repealed to Seoul
206.
1. CONTINUED COMMENT ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S PRESS CONFERENCE, INCLUDING FAVOURABLE EDITORIALS IN THE COMMUNIST PRESS. THE MAJOR FUTURE RELATED NEWS STORY WAS THE MEETING IN PEKING BETWEEN JI PENGFEI AND A GROUP OF HONG KONG ACADEMICS.
DETAIL
2. THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S PRESS CONFERENCE WAS THE PRINCIPAL SUBJECT OF EDITORIAL COMMENT. BOTH MAJOR COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS, THE TA KUNG PAO AND THE WEN WEI PO, PUBLISHED SIMILAR EDITORIALS PRAISING THE STATEMENT AND THE ANSWERS TO JOURNALISTS' QUESTIONS. THE TA KUNG PAO SAID THAT THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S REMARKS TOOK INTO ACCOUNT REALITY AND HISTORY AND WERE INDICATIVE OF A FRIENDLY AND CO-OPERATIVE ATTITUDE. THIS WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO THE TALKS ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE AS WELL AS TO THE MAINTENANCE OF HONG KONG'S STABILITY AND PROSPERITY. IF BOTH SIDES MAINTAINED THEIR FREINDLY ATTITUDES, THE QUESTION WOULD SE RESOLVED SMOOTHLY. NOTING THAT THE SERCRETAY OF STATE HAD SAID THAT THERE WERE POINTS OUTSTANDING
AND THAT THE TWO SIDES SHOULD NOT RUSH INTO AN AGREEMENT, THE TA KUNG PAO STILL CONSIDERED THAT AN EARLY AGREEMENT COULD HELP BOOST CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG. SIR GEOFFREY HOWE'S REMARKS HAD ALSO
HELPED TO ALLAY FEARS ABOUT POSSIBLE CHANGES IN CHINA'S POLICY.
MANY HONG KONG PEOPLE NOW BELIEVED THAT IT WAS TIME FOR ALL HONG
KONG RESIDENTS TO JOIN HANDS IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN AND DEVELOP HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY AND STABILITY. THIS WAS A CORRECT VIEW AND
DESERVED FULL SUPPORT.
3. THE WEN WEI PO EDITORIAL WAS VERY SIMILAR AND CONTAINED EXTENSIVE QUOTATIONS FROM THE OPENING STATEMENT. SIR GEOFFREY HOWE HAD PROVIDED AN ANSWER TO THOSE WHO ASKED WHETHER CHINA WOULD HONOUR ANY AGREEMENT. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WOULD NOT HAVE ENTERED INTO TALKS WITH BRITAIN ABOUT HONG KONG'S POST-1997 ADMINISTRATION, WHICH WAS AN INTERNAL CHINESE AFFAIR, IF CHINA DID NOT REGARD BRITAIN AS A FRIEND. IF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAD NO INTENTION OF HONOURING THE BILATERAL AGREEMENT, THERE WOULD BE NO NEED FOR ANY DISCUSSION. IT WAS WELL KNOWN THAT CHINA ALWAYS HONOURED ITS PROMISES IN DEALINGS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES. ALTHOUGH THERE WAS STILL SOME WAY TO GO BEFORE A CONCLUSION OF AN AGREEMENT, THE ROAD AHEAD COULD BE SHORTENED IF BOTH SIDES CONTINUED TO SHOW THE SORT OF FRACMATIC, FRIENDLY AND CO-OPERATIVE ATTITUDES WHICH HAD BEEN EVIDENT IN THE SECRETARY OF STATE'S PRES CONFERENCE.
RESTRICTED
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