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MDLIAN 9954
ELECTIONS WERE A SUCCESS.
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EDITORIALLY MOST PAPERS BELIEVED THAT MR MAUDE'S VISIT WOULD HELP NORMALISE SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS, WHICH WOULD IN TURN BENEFIT HONG KONG.
NATIONALITY
5.
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THE MEDIA (25 30.7) ACCORDED PROMINENT COVERAGE TO NEWS RELATING TO THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE, WITH MOST REPORTS PLAYING UP THE RUSH TO NATURALISATION BY THOUSANDS OF HONG KONG PEOPLE AND A STATEMENT ISSUED BY CHINA EXPRESSING STRONG OPPOSITION TO THE PACKAGE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE QUEUED TO BEAT THE DEADLINE OF NATURALISATION FOR APPLYING FULL BRITISH PASSPORTS UNDER THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE, THE MEDIA (26 AND 27.7) REPORTED IN PROMINENT AND EXTENSIVE NEWS AND PICTORIAL COVERAGE. MARTIN LEE, SAID THAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT SHOULD FEEL ASHAMED OF THE CHAOS IN WHICH SOME 54,000 PEOPLE QUEUED UP FOR NATURALISATION. A PRO-CHINA LAWYER IN HONG KONG, CHAU CHAN-KAI, WAS QUOTED BY WEN WEI PO (27.7) AS SAYING THAT THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE HAD GIVEN PEOPLE THE IMPRESSION THAT IT WAS ''THE END OF THE WORLD. THE PRO-PEKING PAPER HK COMMERCIAL DAILY (27.7) SAID IN AN EDITORIAL THAT AS ONLY SOME 30 000 PEOPLE OUT OF THE 3 MILLION NON-BRITISH SUBJECTS APPLIED FOR NATURALISATION, IT SHOWED THAT THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE.
6.
10
A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SAID THAT THE CPG WOULD NOT RECOGNISE THE BRITISH CITIZENSHIP OBTAINED BY SOME HONG KONG PEOPLE UNDER THE BRITISH NATIONALITY (HK) ACT, THE MEDIA (29.7) REPORTED PROMINENTLY, WITH MANY PAPERS CARRYING THE FULL STATEMENT PUBLISHED BY THE NCNA. THE GOVERNOR, SAID THAT IT WAS VERY MUCH A REPETITION OF WHAT THE CHINESE HAD BEEN SAYING BEFORE AND THAT HE DID NOT THINK THERE WAS ANY PARTICULAR NEW POINT IN IT, THE MEDIA (29.7) REPORTED. A LOCAL DELEGATE TO THE CPCC, XU SIMIN / SAID THAT THERE WAS NOTHING NEW IN THE REMARKS, TIN TIN DAILY NEWS (29.7) AND THE HONG KONG STANDARD 930.7) REPORTED. PEKING'S REMARKS WERE TO REMOVE AN IMPRESSION FOLLOWING THE PEKING VISIT BY MR MAUDE THAT CHINA HAD SOFTENED ITS STAND ON THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE.
7. QUOTING CHINESE SOURCES, THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL (31.7) REPORTED THAT SINCE THERE WAS NOTHING NEW IN MR MAUDE'S EXPLANATION OF THE BRITISH NATIONALITY PACKAGE DURING HIS CHINA VISIT AND IN VIEW OF THE PASSAGE OF THE NATIONALITY BILL IN PARLIAMENT, CHINA HAD TO MAKE CLEAR ITS STANCE ONCE AGAIN. THE SOURCES POINTED OUT THAT THE STATEMENT LAST SATURDAY WAS DIRECTED AT THE PASSAGE OF THE NATIONALITY BILL AND THAT IT WAS NOT IN RESPONSE TO THE LONG QUEUE
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