Introduction
Weekly Summary of Media Reports on HK's Future
25.3.87 - 31.3.87
Period:
The initialling of the Sino-Portuguese agreement on Macau's future was extensively reported while prominent coverage was given to the announcement on the setting up of a survey office to collect opinion on the Green Paper on representative government.
Macau's Future
The initialling in Peking (on Thursday 27.3) of the Sino-Portuguese agreement on Macau's future was given blanket coverage by the news media. Most papers also devoted extensive coverage to generally favourable reactions from various commentators in both HK and Macau. The full text of the Sino-Portuguese Joing Declaration, its annexes and the memoranda on nationality, was carried in most papers.
Many papers highlighted in their headlines that China would re-exercise its sovereignty over Macau in 1999 and a Macau SAR with a high degree of autonomy would be set up.
Several papers, including Ming Pao and the HK Commercial Daily, headlined their stories to the effect that a Macau accord satisfactory to all was reached.
Some papers highlighted the nationality issue. It was noted that Portuguese passport holders in Macau would have the rig..t of abode in Portugal while BN(O) passport holders in HK would not be entitled to the same right in Britain. Sing Tao said in its headlines that the agreement had provided for dual nationality in reality although not in name.
The leader of the Chinese negotiating team, Zhou Nan, said that China did not recognise dual nationality and that the Portuguese passport held by Macau residents would not be treated as a travel document. Expressing a similar view, Lu- Ping of the HK and Macau Affairs Office said that the question of dual nationality did not arise.
Some papers noted that the Sino-Portuguese agreement was modelled on the Sino-British agreement on HK. Some made comparison between the two.
The HK Economic Jo unrnal said that the two agreements differed on eight
points.
The paper noted that Annex I of the Sino-British Joint Declaration had stipulated that HK's capitalist system and lifestyle would remain unchanged for 50 years. The Sino-Portuguese version, however, did not mention the capitalist system
in Macau. The paper said that the reason for this omission was not known and had caused
some concern.
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