UNCLASSIFIED
нив HUB 017/6
19.
Chunia
angle
030550
MDLIAN 3495
37
UNCLASSIFIED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 2650
OF 07045OZ NOVEMBER 92
INFO ROUTINE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
COPY TWIST?
NCNA SEMINAR ON CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE: PRESS REPORTS.
1. THE LOCAL MEDIA GAVE PROMINENT COVERAGE TO A SEMINAR ORGANISED YESTERDAY BY NCNA HERE TO DISCUSS THE GOVERNOR'S CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE. THE SEMINAR WAS ATTENDED BY OVER 100. LOCAL DELEGATES TO THE NPC AND CPPCC. ZHOU NAN WAS REPORTED TO HAVE CRITICISED THE GOVERNOR OF ATTEMPTING TO TURN THE TERRITORY INTO AN INDEPENDENT OR SEMI-INDEPENDENT STATE, OR TO RETAIN COLONIAL RULE IN DISGUISE. BUT HE STRESSED THAT THE CHINESE WAS SINCERE IN HOLDING TALKS WITH THE BRITISH SIDE. HE SAID THAT THE BRITISH SIDE NOW HAD TWO ALTERNATIVES: TO CONTINUE TO SLIP ON THE PRESENT PATH OR TO RETURN TO CONVERGENCE WITH THE BASIC LAW. HE STRESSED THAT THE BRITISH SIDE MUST SHOW SINCERITY IF IT WISED TO TALK.
2.
TWO OTHER REMARKS ARE WORTH NOTING. ZHOU NAN WAS SAID TO HAVE DENIED RECENT RUMOUR THAT PEKING WOULD SEND PLA TO TAKE BACK HONG KONG IN THE MIDST OF THE PRESENT ROW. AND QIN WENJUN, A DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NCNA, WAS REPORTED TO HAVE DISMISSED AS ANOTHER RUMOUR THE SUGGESTION THAT LEGCO MEMBERS VOTING IN SUPPORT OF THE GOVERNOR'S CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE WOULD HAVE TO GET OFF THE THROUGH TRAIN IN 1997.
PATTEN
YYYY
ΜΑΙΝ
50
.JLG RESTRICTED
HKD
FED
LEGAL ADVISERS//MS BARRETT
DISTRIBUTION
53
NEWS D
PUSD
RAD
MR HUM
PAGE
1
UNCLASSIFIED