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GOVERNOR'S LEGCO ADDRESS: CHINESE PRESS COVERAGE
SUMMARY
1.
Muted first response. Criticism of the Governor's
repetition of the content of his original proposals and of the warning that there are weeks rather than months left for the talks to reach a conclusion. Mildly critical comment on the airport, quoting an unnamed financial source. No personal invective.
DETAIL
2. People's Daily (7 October) reported the Governor's address quite prominently, under a neutral headline. Having noted that the Governor's speech was split into 20 sections covering economic, social, constitutional and other issues, the Xinhua despatch concentrated on the constitutional content. It recalled that on 7 October 1992 Mr Patten had delivered his first policy address after assuming office. At that time, the spokesmen of the Hong Kong branch of NCNA, the State Council's HKMO and the MFA's HKMAO had pointed out that the British side had not held prior consultation with the Chinese side and had unilaterally made public in the policy address the "political reform plan" which contained major changes to Hong Kong's existing political system; that this plan violated the Joint Declaration, the principle of convergence with the Basic Law and the understandings and agreements already reached between the two sides; and that the British side had thus deliberately stirred up public debate between the two sides. People from all walks of life in Hong Kong had also severely criticised the plan.
3.
The article continues that despite this, the 37-page report delivered yesterday both repeated the content of last year's "political reform plan" and said that "(the Governor) could not
In his abandon his principles in order to sign an agreement". speech Mr Patten had said that "it should be possible to reach
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