TNAG-1233-FCO40-1546-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 68

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FM HONG KONG 1308512 JAN 83

TO PRIORITY F C O

TELEGRAM NUMBER 55 OF 13 JANUARY

INFO PRIORITY PEKING

INDEX

INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON

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MY TELNO 39: VISITORS TO PEKING: NEW TERRITORIES REPRESENTATIVES' MEETING WITH LIAO CHENGZHI

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1. ALL PAPERS TODAY REPORT PROMINENTLY THE MEETING BETWEEN A NEW TERRITORIES REPRESENTATIVE DELEGATION, LED BY HEUNG YEE KUK CHAIRMAN LAU WONG FAT, AND LIAO CHENGZHI. ALL PAPERS, INCLUDING THE COMMUNIST PRESS, REPORT LAU WONG FAT AS HAVING SAID TO JOURNALISTS AFTER THE MEETING THAT LIAO CHENGZHI HAD TOLD HIM **CHINA HAS KICKED THE BALL TO BRITAIN AND CHINA OBVIOUSLY HAS TO WAIT FOR BRITAIN TO KICK THE BALL BACK AGAIN. CHINA CANNOT GO CHASING AFTER THE BALL'', THIS IS UNIVERSALLY INTERPRETED AS MEANING THAT THE CHINESE SIDE HAD MADE PROPOSALS ON THE FUTURE TO WHICH A BRITISH RESPONSE WAS AWAITED. THE COMMUNIST WEN WEI

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PO SAYS THIS EXPLICITLY IN ITS HEADLINE. THE HONG KONG STANDARD See rikko 40 AND REUTERS FROM PEKING QUOTE ''DIPLOMATIC ANALYSTS' AS SAYING

THAT PUBLIC STATEMENTS BY CHINESE LEADERS ON THE HONG KONG QUESTION WERE SOMETIMES MADE FOR PROPAGANDA REASONS AND THAT THE BRITISH WOULD NOT NECESSARILY AGREE WITH MR. LIAO'S VIEW

2. WIDE COVERAGE IS ALSO GIVEN TO THE FACT THAT THE DELEGATION GAVE LIAO WRITTEN SUGGESTIONS ON THE SUBJECT OF HONG KONG'S FUTURE. LAU WONG FAT IS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT DETAILS OF THESE DOCUMENTS WERE CONFIDENTIAL. HOWEVER, REPORTS IN THE COMMUNIST PRESS GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT A FOUR POINT WRITTEN PROPOSAL IN THE NAME OF THE WHOLE DELEGATION WAS HANDED OVER. ACCORDING TO THE WEN WEI PO THE FOUR POINTS WERE:-

1. EARLY AGREEMENT BETWEEN BRITAIN AND CHINA AND AN EARLY ANNOUNCEMENT WERE REQUIRED.

2. CHINA SHOULD SPEED UP THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES IN ORDER TO BOOST THE CONFIDENCE OF THE PEOPLE IN HONG KONG.

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