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RESTRICTED
000527 MDLIAN 7077
RESTRICTED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY F C O
TELNO 115
OF 14110OZ JANUARY 92
(CORRECTED VERSION PARA 3 LINE 3/4)
(PARA 6 LINE 3)
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
TOP COPY Q DIST?
FROM INFORMATION CO-ORDINATOR
MY TELNO 46: CHANGE OF GOVERNOR: PRESS COVERAGE
SUMMARY
THE GOVERNOR'S FORTHCOMING RETIREMENT HAS CONTINUED TO DOMINATE THE ANALYSIS AND COMMENT PAGES OF THE LOCAL PRESS. COVERAGE HAS CONCENTRATED ON ASSESSMENTS OF THE GOVERNOR'S RECORD IN OFFICE AND SPECULATION ABOUT WHO WILL TAKE OVER AND WHEN.
DETAIL
2. THE PRESS HAS NOT LOST ITS APPETITE FOR STORIES ABOUT THE GOVERNOR'S RETIREMENT, ALTHOUGH THE COVERAGE HAS MOVED FROM THE NEWS TO ANALYSIS AND COMMENT PAGES. MOST NEWSPAPERS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES HAVE ANALYSED DEVELOPMENTS AND GIVEN THEIR READERS/AUDIENCE AN ASSESSMENT OF THE GOVERNOR'S PERFORMANCE IN OFFICE. THE MAJORITY OF THESE ASSESSMENTS HAVE BEEN FAVOURABLE. FOR EXAMPLE, AN EDITORIAL IN THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL ON 9 JANUARY SAID QUOTE SIR DAVID WILSON IS NOT THE LAST GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG BUT HE IS PROBABLY THE LAST GOVERNOR WHO HAS SHARED HONG KONG PEOPLE'S ANXIETIES BECAUSE HE IS GENUINELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG UNQUOTE. THIS IS A COMMON VIEW IN THE PRESS/MEDIA (SIMILAR COMMENTS WERE PUBLISHED IN THE WAH KIU YAT PO AND THE COMMERCIAL DAILY ON 9 JANUARY). THE EVIDENCE OF OPINION POLLS SUGGESTS THAT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE TAKES A SIMILAR VIEW. ON 13 AND 14 JANUARY, MING PAO REPORTED THE RESULTS OF AN OPINION POLL IN WHICH 90 PER CENT OF RESPONDENTS SAID HAT SIR DAVID HAD BEEN AN EFFECTIVE GOVERNOR AND THAT THEY WERE QUOTE SATISFIED UNQUOTE WITH HIS PERFORMANCE. SIMILARLY, THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST PUBLISHED THE RESULTS OF A POLL ON 11 JANUARY IN WHICH CLOSE TO 50 PER CENT OF RESPONDENTS REGRETTED THE GOVERNOR'S RETIREMENT AND PREFERRED HIM TO REMAIN IN POST.
3.
HOWEVER, THERE HAS ALSO BEEN SOME CRITICISM OF THE
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