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LONG MEETING WITH MRS. THATCHER. THEY, TOO, HAD HAD A GOOD TALK. HE ASKED WHEN LORD YOUNG HAD SEEN THE PRIME MINISTER. LORD YOUNG REPLIED THAT HE HAD SEEN MR. MAJOR ON 27 SEPTEMBER. THE PRIME MINISTER HAD BEEN PLEASED WITH THE OUTCOME OF LAST WEEK'S JLG MEETING. HE HAD ALSO SAID THAT HE WAS KEEN TO WORK WITH CHINA ON
UN MATTERS.
5. LORD YOUNG ADDED THAT ALTHOUGH HE WAS NO LONGER A MEMBER OF THE GOVERNMENT HE STILL HAD MANY FRIENDS IN POLITICS. AS A RESULT HE GOT ASKED TO DO THINGS FROM TIME TO TIME. LI PENG, SAYING HE WOULD SPEAK FREELY ASKED WHETHER THERE HAD BEEN A RECENT RISE IN THE POPULARITY OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY. LORD YOUNG SAID THAT HE DID NOT KNOW WHEN AN ELECTION WOULD BE HELD. IT COULD BE AS EARLY AS NOVEMBER THOUGH HE THOUGHT THAT UNLIKELY. BUT HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT WHENEVER THE ELECTION TOOK PLACE, THE CONSERVATIVES WOULD BE RETURNED TO POWER. OPINION POLLS WERE MISLEADING. SUPPORT FOR THE GOVERNMENT INCREASED ONCE AN ELECTION HAD BEEN DECLARED.
6.
LORD YOUNG COMMENTED THAT IT HAD BEEN A YEAR SINCE HIS LAST VISIT TO CHINA. PEKING WAS LOOKING GOOD. THE SHOPS SEEMED TO BE FULL AND PEOPLE LOOKED PROSPEROUS. LI PENG SAID (RATHER CURIOUSLY I THOUGHT) THAT HE HAD SEEN PICTURES OF TIANANMEN SQUARE ON TV. IT WAS VERY WELL DECORATED. HE AGREED THAT THE SHOPS WERE FULLY STOCKED. COMPARED WITH HONG KONG SOME CONSUMER GOODS WERE EXPENSIVE BUT OTHERS WERE CHEAPER. HE HAD HEARD THAT INFLATION IN HONG KONG MIGHT GET INTO DOUBLE DIGITS THIS YEAR.
IN CHINA IT WAS ONLY ABOUT 5 PER CENT AND WOULD NOT EXCEED 6 PER CENT, DESPITE THE FACT THAT GRAIN PRICES HAD BEEN INCREASED BY 60 PER CENT EARLIER IN THE YEAR CAUSING A 3 PER CENT INCREASE IN THE PRICE INDEX.
7.
THE DISCUSSION THEN TURNED TO CABLE AND WIRELESS BUSINESS. LORD YOUNG SAID HE HAD HAD A PRODUCTIVE MEETING WITH MINISTER YANG. TELEPHONE TRAFFIC BETWEEN HONG KONG AND SOUTHERN CHINA WAS EXPANDING FAST. C AND W WERE CONFIDENT THAT HONG KONG HAD A GOOD FUTURE AND LOOKED FORWARD TO WORKING TOGETHER WITH CHINA LONG AFTER 1997. LI PENG SAID THAT CHINA'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS WERE STILL IN THEIR INFANCY. THERE WOULD BE A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE COMING DECADE, HELPED BY SATELLITES AND OPTICAL FIBRES.
THERE WERE THEN SOME EXCHANGES ABOUT ASIASAT ONE AND ASIASAT TWO. LORD YOUNG EXPLAINED THAT HE HAD BEEN DISCUSSING
8.
COOPERATION ON BOTH SATELLITES WITH MINISTER YANG. ASIASAT TWO
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