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CHINESE SIDE MIGHT FURTHER SLOW DOWN PROGRESS OF THE TALKS SO THAT THE GOVERNOR WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO REPORT IN HIS ADDRESS TO LEGCO IN OCTOBER.
4. THE HK COMMERCIAL DAILY CONSIDERED S OF S'S REMARKS OF HK BEING A POLITICAL CITY WORRYING. IF S OF S COULD DURING THE VISIT MAKE CLEAR BRITAIN'S POLICY TOWARDS CHINA, SHOW SINCERITY IN CO- OPERATING WITH CHINA BY PROMISING THAT HKG WOULD NOT PLAY ANY MORE PETTY TRICKS, CLARIFY BRITAIN'S BOTTOMLINE AND WITHDRAW THEIR UNREASONABLE DEMANDS, THERE COULD BE A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE POLITICAL TALKS.
5. A LEFT-WING PAPER, TA KUNG PO, ALSO CAUGHT ONTO THE POLITICAL CITY THEME AND SAID THAT S OF S'S KEY MESSAGE TO PEKING DURING THE VISIT APPEARED TO BE THAT A SYSTEM ALLOWING POLITICAL CHOICE MUST BE ESTABLISHED IN HK BEFORE 1997. THE PAPER WARNED THAT IF HK WAS TURNED INTO A POLITICAL CITY, IT WOULD BECOME AN ARENA FOR VARIOUS POLITICAL FORCES. THIS WOULD ULTIMATELY KILL QUOTE THE GOOSE THAT LAID GOLDEN EGGS UNQUOTE WHICH WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO BOTH HK PEOPLE AND BRITISH INTEREST IN THE TERRITORY.
TALKS
6. HKMAO VICE-DIRECTOR WANG QIREN'S MEETING WITH 14 HONG KONG AFFAIRS ADVISERS WAS WIDELY REPORTED. WANG WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT HK'S DEMOCRATISATION SHOULD BE A GRADUAL PROCESS. DEMOCRACY HAD BEEN CLEARLY STIPULATED IN THE BL AND THE HKSAR WOULD ENJOY MORE DEMOCRACY THAN PRESENT. ON THE THROUGH TRAIN, WANG SAID THAT THE FIRST LEGISLATURE WOULD BE FORMED ACCORDING TO ANNEX II TO THE BL. BL 104 DID NOT SPECIFY THE CRITERIA.
7. FORMER BL DRAFTER XU CHONGDE WAS QUOTED IN MANY PAPERS AS SAYING THAT IF THE FORMATION AND COMPOSITION OF THE 1995 LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY DID NOT CONFORM WITH THE BL STIPULATIONS, THEN ITS MEMBERS COULD NOT RIDE THE THROUGH TRAIN EVEN IF THEY UPHELD THE BL. XU ALSO STRESSED THAT THE MEMBERS HAD TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE SARPC.
8. TSUI CHIN-TONG, A HK AFFAIRS ADVISER, WAS ALSO QUOTED ON A FEW RADIO STATIONS AS SAYING THAT CHINESE OFFICIALS HAD TOLD HIM THAT THE LAST FEW ROUNDS OF TALKS HAD NOT GONE SMOOTHLY AND THERE WAS STILL A WIDE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES.
9. AN ARTICLE IN THE JULY ISSUE OF MIRROR MAGAZINE SAID THAT THE
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