TNAG-1243-FCO40-1557-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 116

GPS 245

RESTRICTED

RESTRICTED

FM HONG KONG 0304352 DEC 83

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1868 OF 3 DECEMBER 1983

Mshest Your love a beach looking.

aut prenantes.

-erfect

to Merk's news we might

Put up

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING AND ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE

hot

a

LONDON, HONG KONG GOVERNMENT REPS WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, BRUSSELS AND content

GENEVA

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: REMARKS BY XU

CONSTITUTION

JIA TUN ON THE MINI

1. THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF REFERENCES IN RECENT PRESS TELEGRAMS TO CHINESE PLANS FOR A QUOTE MINI CONSTITUTION UNQUOTE FOR HONG KONG, NOTICEABLY THE REPORTS OR REMARKS BY JI PENGFE I (HEAD OF THE HONG KONG AND MACAU OFFICE IN PEKING) TO A GROUP OF HONG KONG BUSINESSMEN (MY TELNO 1800) AND TO THE CHINESE

REFORM CLUB OF HONG KONG (MY TELNO 1862).

2. ON 3 DECEMBER, XU JIATUN (DIRECTOR OF NCNA IN HONG KONG) SPOKE IN SOME DETAIL ABOUT THE MINI CONSTITUTION TO JOURNALISTS

AFTER INAUGURATING AN EXHIBITION OF SHANGHAI ARTS AND CRAFTS.

HIS REMARKS WERE THE FRONT PAGE LEAD IN BOTH MAJOR COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS, TA KUNG PAO AND WEN WEI PO ON 3 DECEMBER. THE PRINCIPAL POINTS MADE BY XU WERE:

(A) THE QUOTE RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS UNQUOTE OF THE STATE COUNCIL

HAD ALREADY BEGUN WORK ON THE DRAFT OF A MINI-CONSTITUTION.

(B) PREPARATORY WORK HAD BEGUN BEFORE THE START OF THE SINO-

BRITISH TALKS.

(C) THE DRAFT WOULD (OR COULD IT IS NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR WHICH)

BE PUBLISHED NEXT YEAR.

(D) THE COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS OF HONG KONG PEOPLE WOULD BE SOUGHT. BUT THE DRAFT WOULD REFLECT THE MANY SUGGESTIONS FROM HONG KONG PEOPLE WHICH HAD ALREADY BEEN RECEIVED.

RESTRICTED

/(E)

a

5/12