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FM HONG KONG 1709442 JAN 83
TO PRIORITY F C O
TELEGRAM NUMBER 78 OF 17 JANUARY
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE
Никоно
1 8 JAN 1983
HISK T INDEX
n
AF2 11
THE LOCAL PRESS HAS GIVEN WIDESPREAD COVERAGE TO FRESH REPORTS FROM PEKING ON THE NEW TERRITORIES GROUP'S DISCUSSIONS WITH LIAO CHENGZHI. THE REPORTS HAVE GIVEN FURTHER ACCOUNTS OF THE IR FIRST DISCUSSION WITH LIAO ON 12 JANUARY AS WELL AS DETAILS OF
REMARKS HE MADE AT A DINNER IN THEIR HONOUR ON 16 JANUARY AFTER
THEIR RETURN TO PEKING FROM THE PROVINCES.
2. THE (COMMUNIST) WEN WEI PO ON 16 JANUARY CARRIED AN INTERVIEW WITH CHAN YAT-SUN, A MEMBER OF THE GROUP. ACCORDING TO CHAN, LIAO CHENGZHI TOLD THE GROUP DURING THEIR FIRST MEETING THAT DIPLOMATIC TALKS WERE CONTINUING, BUT THERE WAS AN IMPASSE DUE TO THE PRIME MINISTER'S INSISTENCE ON THE VALIDITY OF THE TREATIES. LIAO APPARENTLY ASKED THE GROUP TO SEEK A PROMPT REPLY TO THE PROPOALS PUT FORWARD BY CHINA. CHAN WAS HOWEVER REPORTED TO HAVE GAINED AN IMPRESSION OF FLEXIBILITY ON CHINA'S PART ON THE QUESTION OF THE FUTURE. THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (SCMP) ON 17 JANUARY CARRIED AN INTERVIEW WITH THE DELEGATION LEADER, LAU WONG-FAT, WHO QUOTED LIAO CHENGZHI AS HAVING SAID THAT CHINA'S AUTONOMY PROPOSALS WERE ON THE DRAWING BOARD AND WERE TOO COMPLICATED TO REVEAL IN FULL AT THIS STAGE. LIAO APPARENTLY SAID THAT THE CHINESE WERE PAYING PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE HONG KONG ECONOMY AND THE CONTINUING ROLE OF THE HONG KONG DOLLAR, INCLUDING THE QUESTION OF ITS ''SEPARATION FROM STERLING",
3. EDITORIALS IN THE LEFT WING PRESS HAVE CONTINUED TO POUNCE ON ANY EXPRESSION OF OPINION QUESTIONING CHINESE ASSERTIONS ABOUT HONG KONG. REMARKS BY MR. IAN WRIGGLESWORTH MP AT HIS PRESS CONFERENCE ON LEAVING HONG KONG HAVE DRAWN CRITICISM FROM THE COMMUNIST PRESS. (WRIGGLESWORTH TOOK THE LINE THAT THE NOTION THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WOULD BE LEFT TO RUN HONG KONG THEMSELVES WAS NOT
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/ CREDIBLE).
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