UNCLASSIFIED
fa
91
065344 AN 0844
TOP CORYA Q DIST?
UNCLASSIFIED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 1752
OF 180945Z NOVEMBER 93
INFO ROUTINE HKGO LONDON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
INFO ROUTINE HKGO WASHINGTON, HKGO NEW YORK, HKGO SAN FRANCISCO INFO ROUTINE HKGO GENEVA
7KB 301|2.
HONG KONG FUTURE: PRESS COVERAGE: (4.11-18.11)
SUMMARY
i:
Attention continued to centre on the talks: prominently noted was the cabinet meeting and the Secretary of State's proposal to reach agreement on the non-controversial issues first in order to concentrate discussions on the remaining controversial issues.
Cabinet Meeting
2. The papers quoted (11.11) the Secretary of State as saying after the cabinet meeting that it had to be realised there were only weeks rather than months to conclude the talks. Given the limited time available, the British side were proposing to move into a more intensive phase and to try to find acceptable answers to all outstanding issues. Mr Hurd however stressed an agreement had to be for electoral arrangements which were open, fair and acceptable to HK people. If agreement could be reached quickly in a number of non-controversial issues relating to the 1994 and 1995 elections, this would enable the Legislative work to begin and give a little more time to concentrate on remaining controversial issues. But Mr Hurd did not believe an agreement was worth any price.
Sino-British Talks
3. In prominent coverage (8.11) the papers noted a report in the UK paper Observer' saying if the talks broke down and the British side implemented the political reforms unilaterally, the Chinese side would resort to economic sanctions against British companies. According to the report, a hit list of major British companies had been drawn up. The FCO dismissed the report as purely speculative.
4. Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen told a visiting printers
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