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INFO PRIORITY PEKING, BTC HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
FROM INFORMATION CO-ORDINATOR
MR. PATTEN'S ARRIVAL: PRESS AND MEDIA COVERAGE
SUMMARY
1. THE ARRIVAL CEREMONIES AND MR. PATTEN'S INAUGURAL SPEECH HAVE
RECESSED MASSIVE AND VERY POSITIVE COVERAGE IN THE LOCAL MAINSTREAM PRESS AND MEDIA. BY COMPARISON, THE COVERAGE IN THE LEFT WING PRESS HAS BEEN LOW KEY WITH MATTER OF FACT REPORTING
AND NO COMMENTARIES. REMARKABLY, SPOKESMEN FROM ALL OF THE LEGCO FRACTIONS HAVE BEEN WIDELY QUOTED AS WELCOMING THE SPEECH FOR
BOTH ITS STYLE AND ITS SUBSTANCE.
DETAIL
2. MR. PATTEN'S ARRIVAL IN HONG KONG, THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY
AND THE INAUGURAL SPEECH HAVE RECEIVED MASSIVE ATTENTION FROM THE
MAINSTREAM PRESS AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA. EVERY NEWSPAPER, TV AND
RADIO STATION CARRIED EXTENSIVE REPORTS. ELEVEN NEWSPAPERS
CARRIED THE FULL TEXT OF THE SPEECH AND MOST PROVIDED THEIR
READERS WITH A COMMENTARY ON MR. PATTEN'S DECLARED OBJECTIVES FOR
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. MR. PATTEN'S ACCESSIBILITY AND FORTHRIGHT
STYLE HAVE BEEN WIDELY WELCOMED AND THERE HAS BEEN A POSITIVE
REACTION TO THE SUBSTANCE OF THE SPEECH.
3. THE MASS CIRCULATION ORIENTAL DAILY WELCOMED MR. PATTEN'S
STATEMENT THAT HE HAS NO HIDDEN AGENDA AND HIS WILLINGNESS TO
QUOTE TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE COMMUNITY
UNQUOTE. THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL AND THE WAH DIU YAT PO WERE
IMPRESSED WITH MR. PATTEN'S UNDERSTANDING OF HONG KONG ISSUES.
THE FORMER TOOK THE VIEW THAT CHINA WOULD DRAW MUCH COMFORT FROM
THE SPEECH BECAUSE MR. PATTEN HAD INDICATED THAT QUOTE HE WOULD
NOT BE INTRODUCING MAJOR CHANGES AND HAD EMPHASISED THE NEED TO MAKE THE ONE COUNTRY-TOW SYSTEMS CONCEPT A REALITY THROUGH
SINCERE CO-OPERATION WITH CHINA UNQUOTE. THE WRITER ARGUED THAT
THE LIBERALS SHOULD KEEP AN OPEN MIND ON THE SPEECH EVEN THOUGH
ON FIRST READING THERE MIGHT SEEM TO BE LITTLE TO ENCOURAGE THEM
ON THE PACE OF DEMOCRATIC CHANGE.
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