CONFIDENTIAL

HKB 301/1

CONFIDENTIAL

RECEDED IN DEGISTRY

AUG 1993

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY PEKING

CER

TELNO 35

PA

REGISTRY Action Taken

OF 250715Z AUGUST 1993|

INFO PRIORITY FCO, UKREP LG HONG KONG

TOP COPY Q DIST?

р.а. Меня 139)

Media

177133

MDLIAN 3053

YOUR TELNO 1143 TO FCO: CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PRESS REPORTS: 20 AUGUST.

WE ARE NOT IN A POSITION TO FIND OUT WHERE THE HK ECONOMIC TIMES GOT THEIR STORY FROM. IN GENERAL TERMS, HOWEVER, THIS NEWSPAPER IS ESTABLISHED AND RUN BY PERSONS WHO HAD CLOSE CONNECTIONS WITH THE CHINESE, AND HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY CRITICAL OF OUR STAND ON CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES. IT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISING IF THEY GOT THEIR STORY FROM CHINESE SOURCES, ALTHOUGH THERE IS NO

PROOF OF THAT.

2.

SEPARATELY, WE HAVE DONE A SUMMARY AND A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THE PRESS ''LEAKS'' ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THE TALKS SINCE MID-JULY. WE WILL SEND COPIES TO YOU (BY BAG ON 27 AUGUST) AND FCO (BY BAG ON 31 AUGUST) ADDRESSED TO MESSRS. COX AND RICKETTS RESPECTIVELY.

FORD

YYYY

MAIN

33

HKD

FED

PROTOCOL D

NEWS D

PS

NNNN

DISTRIBUTION

33

PS/MR GOODLAD

PS/PUS

SIR J COLES

MR HUM

MR MASEFIELD

1

PAGE

CONFIDENTIAL

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