CATAMB
HKK 020/1
RESTRICTED
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION BY MR TIM YEO, MP,
FOR WRITTEN ANSWER ON 11 FEBRUARY.
BACKGROUND
Since the resignation of Hu Yaobang on 16 January there have been two statements by Chinese officials mentioning Hong Kong. Xu Jiatun
(Director of the Hong Kong branch of NCNA) stated in a speech in
Hong Kong on 20 January that recent developments in China would not
affect Hong Kong in the long run. Ma Yuzhan, a spokesman of the Chinese Ministers of Foreign Affairs, was reported on 22 January as saying that changes in the leadership would not affect China's policy towards Hong Kong.
This is clearly the message which the Chinese wish to convey both to
ourselves and to a jittery Hong Kong public. Our assessment is that
the main lines of Chinese policy towards Hong Kong should indeed
remain unchanged. But there is a clear risk that at the margin the
Chinese will be able to show less flexibility or imagination in
devising ways of meeting Hong Kong's concerns. This could be
particularly significant for China's attitude to the 1987 Review and
the development of representative government in Hong Kong.
Mr Yeo has shown no previous interest in Hong Kong.
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