UNCLASSIFIED
RECEI
UNCLASSIFIED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 2
OF 020358Z JANUARY 92
INDEX
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
44
1992 ANNEX
-6 JAN 1992
ISTRY
REGISTRY
A
Acton Taken
021443
DLIAN 4732
OUR TELNO 2948 : CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS REPORTS
1. TUR REPORTED REMARKS MADE BY LU PING, AS RELAYED BY DAB CHAIRMAN TSANG YOK-SING, ON CHINESE THINKING ON A 'SEPARATE STOVE.' THE EXPRESS TODAY (2 JANUARY) QUOTED AN AUTHORITATIVE CHINESE SOURCE' AS SAYING THAT THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD SHORTLY ANNOUNCE THE SCOPE OF THE FRANCHISES WHICH WOULD STRADDLE 1997. THESE FRANCHISES WOULD CONTINUE TO BE HANDLED BY THE JLG. HONG KONG BUSINESSMEN CONCERNED SHOULD URGE HKG TO PUT THESE FRANCHISES AND CONTRACTS TO THE JLG AS SOON AS POSSIBLE : THE RESPONSIBILITY DID NOT REST WITH THE CHINESE. BUT THE LATTER WOULD EXAMINE AND APPROVE THESE FRANCHISES ETC. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ONCE THEY WERE IN THE JLG DOMAIN.
2. ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL SIDE, THE SOURCE SAID THAT THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD NOT RECOGNISE THE GOVERNOR'S PACKAGE EVEN IF IT WAS PASSED BY LEGCO. NOR WOULD THEY RECOGNISE THE MEMBERS OF THE THREE TIERS OF GOVERNMENT RETURNED UNDER THE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS STIPULATED IN THE PACKAGE. AS SUCH THESE MEMBERS COULD NOT TRANSCEND 1997 AND
SERVE IN THE FIRST SARG.
3.
IN A RELATED DEVELOPMENT, HONG KONG DAILY NEWS QUOTED TSANG YOK- SING AS SAYING THAT WHILE CHINA WOULD IN PRINCIPLE MAKE ABSOLUTELY NO CONCESSION, HER CURRENT FOCUS WAS HOW TO RESUME CO-OPERATION WITH BRITAIN TO FACILITATE A SMOOTH TRANSITION AND CONVERGENCE. TSANG ADDED THAT THE CHINESE SIDE HAD NOW TAKEN A MORE POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARDS COUNTER-PROPOSALS MADE BY PEOPLE IN HONG KONG.
4. TSANG MADE SIMILAR REMARKS EARLIER IN AN INTERVIEW CARRIED BY THE EXPRESS ON 29 DECEMBER. FULL TEXT TRANSLATION OF THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW FOLLOWS BY FAX TO HKD (BUNTEN) AND PEKING (ROGAN).
PATTEN
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