TNAG-0850-FCO40-1060-Future-of-Hong-Kong-New-Territories-leases-1979 — Page 64

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A PEKING 117635Z CCT 79

TO PRIORITY HONG KONG

TELEGRAM NUMBER 75 OF 11 OCTOBER 79

INFO PRIORITY FCO

HK

RECEIVED IN REGISTY NO.

1 2 OCT 1979

DEJK OFFICER INDEX

по

Ais

15.

REGR

adu

FOLLOWING FOR POLITICAL ADVISER

YOUR TELNO 159: HUA GUOFENG'S COMMENTS ON HONG KONG

1.

HUA'S ANSWER, AS RECORDED BY THE FIRST SECRETARY PRESENT AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE, IS AS IN OUR TELNO 879 TO FCO;

COPIED TO YOU. NCNA HAVE PRINTED A VERBATIM TEXT OF THE

ENTIRE PRESS CONFERENCE IN THEIR ITEM 100746: THERE IS NO

DIFFERENCE OF IMPORTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO TEXTS WHICH ARE OF

COURSE BOTH TRANSLATIONS FROM THE CHINESE.

2. WE HAVE DISCUSSED THE STORY IN YOUR PARA 1 WITH CHRISTOPHER

PRITCHETT OF REUTERS WHO ASSURES US THERE WAS NO QUESTION OF

THE MFA SUGGESTING QUESTIONS. NOR HAD THE CHINESE BEEN

WARNED IN ADVANCE OF ANY OF THE QUESTIONS TO BE PUT TO THEM. THESE HAD, HOWEVER, BEEN AGREED BEFOREHAND BETWEEN THE JOURNALISTS AT A MEETING AT THE MFA TWO DAYS BEFORE THE CONFERENCE (AND COULD CONCEIVABLY HAVE BEEN OVERHEARD). THE QUESTION WAS REFERRED TO AT THAT MEETING, HOWEVER, ONLY AS "' A QUESTION ABOUT HONG KONG'', ONLY NIGEL WADE OF THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

AND PHILIP SHORT OF THE BBC HAD ADVANCE WARNING OF THE

PRECISE QUESTION. REUTERS HAD CHOSEN THE QUESTION AS ONE

WHICH WOULD BE LIKELY TO GET COOD COVERAGE IN THE HONG KONG

PRESS, WHATEVER THE ANSWER: THEY WERE NOT DIAPPOINTED.

3. THE CHINESE MADE AN ATTEMPT TO RESTRICT QUESTIONS TO

SUBJECTS RELATING DIRECTLY TO HUA'S VISIT AND BILATERAL

MATTERS: THEY MUST THEREFORE HAVE EXPECTD, AND BRIEFED

HUA TO COVER, QUESTIONS ON DIRECT BILATERAL ISSUES SUCH

AS HONG KONG.

CRADOCK

FLAS

H K & Q D NEWS.D DID

P.8/Me BLAKER. FED.

HR CORTAZZA Leseguer DIEPT. HR. MURRAY

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