UNCLASSIFIED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 688
OF 05100OZ MARCH 91
UNCLASSIFIED
Miss 301/1
Мав
26
126712 MDLIAN 3011
TOP COPY
A
ко
DIST ?
INFO ROUTINE HKGO LONDON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG INFO ROUTINE HKGO WASHINGTON, HKGO NEW YORK, HKGO SAN FRANCISCO INFO ROUTINE HKGO GENEVA, UKMIS GENEVA
HONG KONG AGREEMENT: PRESS COVERAGE: WEEKLY ROUND-UP
SUMMARY
1. THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS, THE VISIT BY JI PENGFEI AND LU PING, AND THE CLOSING OF APPLICATIONS FOR THE BRITISH NATIONALITY PACKAGE TOPPED MEDIA COVERAGE.
DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS
2. A TOTAL OF 424,023 PEOPLE VOTED IN THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS HELD ON 3 MARCH. THIS FIGURE REPRESENTED A VOTER TURN- OUT RATE OF 32.47 PER CENT AND A TWO PER CENT GROWTH OVER THE LAST ELECTIONS IN 1988. LU PING WAS REPORTED AS SAYING THAT HE HOPED THAT MORE PEOPLE WOULD VOTE IN THE ELECTIONS AS IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT IF MORE HONG KONG PEOPLE CARED ABOUT LOCAL AFFAIRS DURING THE TRANSITION. SOME REPORTS NOTED THAT ALTHOUGH LU PING URGED MORE HONG KONG PEOPLE TO TAKE PART IN THE ELECTIONS, HE INDICATED THAT THE PACE OF DEMOCRATISATION WOULD NOT BE AFFECTED BY THE PUBLIC RESPONSE TO
THE ELECTIONS AS HE SAID THAT HONG KONG'S FUTURE POLITICAL
ARRANGEMENTS HAD ALREADY BEEN SET OUT IN THE BASIC LAW.
JI PENGFEI AND LU PING'S VISIT
3. LU PING WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT HE HOPED TO MAKE POSITIVE
EFFORTS TO IMPROVE SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS AS WELL AS TO INCREASE
SINO-HONG KONG UNDERSTANDING AND CO-OPERATION. SIR DAVID WILSON SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS TO ARRIVE AT A CONSENSUS ON THE AIRPORT PROJECT DURING THE VISIT BY THE TWO CHINESE OFFICIALS. TIN TIN DAILY NEWS SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE OF LU PING'S VISIT WAS TO MAKE PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEXT MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY POLITBURO AS HE WAS TO PROPOSE AT THE MEETING THAT GUIDELINES HAD TO BE LAID DOWN TO CONTROL CHINA-FUNDED COMPANIES COMING TO HONG KONG TO AVOID GIVING HONG KONG PEOPLE THE IMPRESSION THAT CHINA WERE TAKING OVER THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE TERRITORY TOO EARLY. THE ORIENTAL DAILY AND TVB SAID THAT LU PING
PAGE
1
UNCLASSIFIED