1991-01-20 15:58 6.1.5
P.02-04
UK to seek funds to cover war bill
THE HK Economic Journal reported in an inside-page lead today that For- eign Secretary Douglas Hurd would this week submit to a war cabinet a list of war expenditure and would ask other countries and territories for donations totalling more than 1 billion pounds sterling. It was yet unknown whether HK would be listed among the donors,
The report said that the UK would be responsible for 2 per cent of the total expenses for the Gulf War. This was a figure proposed by UK to the allied forces, arrived at in terms of economic benefits involved.
The report said that a University of London study report revealed that the UK Government would face 5.9 billion pounds sterling in war expenses if the Gulf War went on for eight weeks. Whitehall sources said that top of the Foreign Secretary's donor list would be Kuwait and Saudi Arabla. It would also include Indonesia a Malaysia. It was believed that HK might be on the donor list.
Allegations refuted
THE Secretary for the Civil Service, Barrie Wiggham, had refuted remarks by the HK Chinese Civil Servants' Association that the Standing Com- mission on Civil
Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service was not impar- tial in making its latest salary adjust ment recommendations, many papers reported on Saturday.
Mr Wiggham pointed out that the standing commission had done a very thorough and comprehensive review. It had the benefit of the views of staff and departmental management be- fore finalising te recommendations. He said the staff association had dis- torted figures relating to the number of civil servants benefiting from the review, by quoting ranks instead of the actual number of staff receiving improvements.
Secret compromise over airport suspected
(From front page)
Governments must have reached a secret compromise. Omelco member Daniel Tse did not believe that there had been such secret plots.
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Quoting Peking sources, ATV and many papers reported in promi- nent and extensive coverage on Sat- urday that the Governor, Sir David Wilson, had agreed in principle with Chinese officials during his Peking visit that adjustraents would be made to the new airport plans and that investments would be cut back as far as possible. The reports said that the third round of expert talks on the new airport next month would discuss in detail what adjustments would be made and how the airport project would be scaled down.
The sources said that the Chi- nese side felt that the talks with the Governor in Peking were fruitful in that consensus had been reached on the principle that the airport needed adjustments, and they appreciated the Governor's co-operative attitude.
Peking wanted the investments on the airport to be as small as pos sible, the project as cost-effective as possible, and that the new airport must not be allowed to become a burden to the SAR. In return for HK making the adjustments, the Chinese side would stop insisting that project tendering work for the airport be sus- pended immediately.
An unnamed Chinese official quoted in the reports said China hoped that the next round of expert talks would achieve results so that the air. port project could go ahead smoothly.
The Secretary for Economic Serv- ices, Anson Chan, told the Apex '91- conference on Friday that the new air- port to be built in Shenzhen would help delay saturation at Kal Tak until 1995. She reiterated HK's need for a new airport, adding that it should be built as early as possible.