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FM ATTC TAIPEI
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 78
OF 040934Z NOVEMBER 92
INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG, PEKING, JLG HONG KONG
شکه
MY TELNO 74: CHINA/HONG KONG: TAIWANESE REACTIONS
SUMMARY
1.
29:
021033 MDLIAN 2818
pa. dante
reacti's
WIDE MEDIA COVERAGE OF PEKING'S REACTIONS TO GOVERNOR'S PROPOSALS. PRESS COMMENT WHOLLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE GOVERNOR.
DETAIL
2.
THERE HAS BEEN WIDE-SPREAD MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE GOVERNOR'S VISIT TO PEKING AND OF THE SUBSEQUENT COMMENTS THERE, AFTER HIS RETURN TO HONG KONG. SOME NEWSPAPERS POINT OUT THAT PEKING'S OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED REFORMS CONTRADICT THEIR EARLIER STAND WHEN THEY CALLED FOR HONG KONG TO BE GOVERNED BY HONG KONG PEOPLE. THEY QUESTION WHAT PEKING WOULD PUT IN PLACE OF THE PROPOSALS AND SEE PEKING'S FEAR OF WESTERN DEMOCRATIC IDEAS AS A THREAT TO THEIR BRAND OF COMMUNISM.
3.
TAIWANESE COMMENT POINTS OUT THAT CHINA'S INTERFERENCE IN HONG KONG'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS COULD SET OFF A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE IN THE TERRITORY WHICH MIGHT NOT ONLY AFFECT INVESTMENT IN HONG KONG BUT ALSO INVESTMENT FROM HONG KONG IN CHINA. PEKING'S OPPOSITION TO GREATER DEMOCRACY IN THE TERRITORY WOULD ALSO HARM ITS ALREADY TARNISHED WORLD IMAGE. THE MAIN TAIWANESE CONCERN ARISES FROM THE FACT THAT CHINA HAS MADE SIMILAR PROMISES OF AUTONOMY FOR TAIWAN, ONCE THE HONG KONG PROBLEM HAS BEEN RESOLVED (I.E. AFTER 1997), UNDER WHAT THEY CALL THE ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS' POLICY.
COMMENT
4.
THE TAIWANESE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT TAKEN ANY PUBLIC POSITION ON THE DISPUTE BETWEEN HONG KONG AND PEKING BUT PRIVATELY THEY ARE LIKELY TO BE ENTIRELY FAVOURABLE TO MR PATTEN'S PROPOSALS. AT THE SAME TIME, GIVEN THE SCALE OF TAIWANESE INVESTMENT IN CHINA AND, TO A LESSER EXTENT, IN HONG KONG, AS WELL AS THE IMPLICATIONS FOR CROSS-STRAITS RELATIONS, THEIR INTEREST IS MORE
THAN ACADEMIC.
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