UNCLASSIFIED
115146
MDLIAN 1112
BILL OF RIGHTS
4. THE GOVERNMENT HAD ANNOUNCED THAT THE CONSULTATION PERIOD ON THE BILL OF RIGHTS WOULD BE EXTENDED BY THREE WEEKS TO JUNE 6, THE MEDIA (10.5) REPORTED IN GOOD COVERAGE. SELINA CHOW SAID LEGCO MEMBERS WELCOMED THE GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO EXTEND THE CONSULTATION PERIOD SO THAT BOTH THE GROUP AND THE PUBLIC WOULD HAVE MORE TIME TO SCRUTINISE THE BILL. THE HONG KONG STANDARD (14.5) QUOTED A REPLY FROM THE CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS BRANCH TO THE LEGCO AD HOC GROUP AS SAYING THAT ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN THE BASIC LAW AND THE BILL SHOULD BE RESOLVED BY AMENDING THE BASIC LAW. THE PAPER NOTED THAT THE REPLY WAS IN SHARP CONTRAST TO CHINA'S POSITION THAT ANY HONG KONG LAW FOUND TO BE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE BASIC LAW SHOULD BE REPEALED BY THE FUTURE SAR.
SURVEY ON CONFIDENCE
5. RESULTS OF THE LATEST QUARTERLY SURVEY ON HONG KONG PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE CONDUCTED BY SURVEY RESEARCH HONG KONG WERE ANNOUNCED, MING PAO AND THE SCM POST (14.5) REPORTED. ACCORDING TO MING PAO, HONG KONG PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONFIDENCE HAD RISEN NINE POINTS FROM THE LOWEST LEVEL WHEN THE BASIC LAW WAS PROMULGATED. THE FINDINGS INDICATED THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT POLITICAL INCIDENTS CONCERNING HONG KONG AND CHINA. MORE THAN 62 PER CENT OF THE 1,000 RESPONDENTS SAID THAT THEY WERE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT HONG KONG'S FUTURE, BUT THE PROFESSIONALS, BUSINESSMEN AND EXECUTIVES WERE PESSIMISTIC. HOWEVER, THE SCM POST SAID THAT POLITICAL CONFIDENCE IN THE TERRITORY HAD NOT RECOVERED A YEAR AFTER JUNE 4. THE PAPER SAID THAT THE RESPONDENTS FELT THAT THE POLITICAL SITUATION HAD NOT IMPROVED, DESPITE THE PROMULGATION OF THE BASIC LAW. IT CONCLUDED THAT POLITICAL CONFIDENCE WAS THE SAME NOW AS IT
WAS IN JANUARY AND OCTOBER.
OTHERS
6. SPEAKING AT AN OMELCO RECEPTION, ZHOU NAN NOTED THAT MANY PEOPLE HAD RECENTLY EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT CHINA AND BRITAIN WOULD MAKE USE OF DIFFERENT CHANNELS TO INCREASE THEIR DISCUSSIONS AND CO- OPERATION SO AS TO RESOLVE IN A TIMELY AND PROPER MANNER THEIR DIFFERENCES OVER VARIOUS ISSUES, THE MEDIA (13.5) REPORTED. HE SAID THAT SUCH WISHES WERE TOTALLY APPROPRIATE AND COMPATIBLE WITH THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF THE JOINT DECLARATION. NOTING THAT CHINA HAD SIMILAR WISHES AS WELL, HE SAID THAT CHINA WOULD CONTINUE TO CLOSELY ABIDE BY PROVISIONS IN THE JOINT DECLARATION IN HANDLING SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS. DAME LYDIA DUNN HOPED THAT OMELCO MEMBERS AND NCNA OFFICIALS WOULD HAVE MORE EXCHANGES TO INCREASE THEIR MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND FRIENDSHIP. HOWEVER, SOME OMELCO MEMBERS
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