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MDLIAN 5371
DID NOT INDICATE HE WOULD NOT MEET THE GOVERNOR BUT THE TIME WAS NOT RIPE.
15. CHEN ZIYING, AT A MEETING WITH HK AFFAIRS ADVISERS IN HK (22.10) SAID THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD STRIVE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT IN THE TALKS. BUT IF THE TALKS FAILED, THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD CARRY OUT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE BL AND THERE WOULD BE NO THROUGH TRAIN.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
16. THE PAPERS NOTED (19.10) IN PROMINENT COVERAGE THAT THE VISITING DELEGATION OF THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS MET THE GOVERNOR, EXCO AND LEGCO MEMBERS, MEMBERS OF THE BRITISH SIDE OF THE JLG, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND NCNA HK BRANCH DIRECTOR ZHOU NAN TO EXCHANGE VIEWS ON ISSUES RELATED TO HK AND A SMOOTH TRANSITION.
17. THE NEWS CONFERENCE GIVEN BY THE DELEGATION WAS WIDELY COVERED (20.10). CHAIRMAN DAVID HOWELL WAS QUOTED AS SAYING IT SEEMED TO THEM WHAT THE BRITISH POLICY WAS SEEKING TO DO WAS TO PROCEED IN THE RIGHT LINE FOR HK WHILE KEEPING WITHIN THE BL, JD AND THE EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE FOREIGN MINISTERS SINCE THEN. MR HOWELL SAID HE BELIEVED AN AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED, BUT HE DID NOT WANT TO SEE AN AGREEMENT AT ANY PRICE.
DB ELECTION BOUNDARIES
18. WEN WEI PO CRITICISED THE GOVERNMENT (22.10) FOR MAKING YET ANOTHER "FALSE START" BY ALLOWING THE BOUNDARY AND ELECTION COMMISSION TO GO AHEAD WITH THE DEMARCATION OF THE CONSTITUENCY BOUNDARIES FOR THE DB ELECTIONS NEXT YEAR, WITHOUT WAITING FOR THE OUTCOME OF THE SINO-BRITISH TALKS. ECHOING CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN WU JIANMIN'S RESPONSE THE PAPER SAID ANY UNILATERAL MOVE TAKEN BY THE BRITISH ON THE 1994 POLLS WOULD ONLY INCREASE THE DIFFICULTY OF THE TALKS ON THE 1995 POLLS.
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