CONFIDENTIAL
Hong Kong Press Comment
3.
the
the elections has been
Hong Kong press comment on
generally favourable in the week since they were held.
Non-communist papers saw the elections as an encouraging
step in
smooth development of representative government. Only one paper called for direct elections, to
be introduced at the next stage in the constitutional
process. The communist papers remained cautious, sounding
a warning note about the need for future stages in the
process of reform to have regard to Hong Kong's stability
and prosperity: with this caveat, their comments on the elections were low key and not discouraging.
4.
Peking has reported that there has been no mention
of the elections in the Chinese press.
5.
Xu Jiatun, Director of the New China News Agency
(NCNA) was widely reported as noting that the election to
LEGOO of five members of the Basic Law Drafting Committee
would benefit Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. The
NCNA have declined to make any other comment on the
elections.
=
6.
Existing Unofficial members (ie appointed) of the
Legislative and Executive Councils, whom the 24 newly
elected members will be joining in UMELCO at the end of this month, were reported as welcoming the outcome of the
elections.
Conclusion
7.
-
The elections seem to have gone well, if as might be expected of indirect elections with a limited franchise fairly predictably. They received good press coverage throughout the election period: the Hong Kong public seem to have taken a genuine interest in this major but careful step in Hong Kong's constitutional development. Above
all, China's main spokesmen in the territory, the New
China News Agency and the leftwing press, have
offered
CONFIDENTIAL