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in the diplomatic talks. On Beijing's position, he said Chinese officials should know more about what had to be done to maintain HK's prosperity. He said although the 1997 question was unlikely to be solved in the next year or two, there was not yet any crisis of confidence in HK. He said the Labour Party would not make any political statement on HK's future until some conclusion had been reached.
His statement was prominently covered by the news media. The two leading left-wing papers, Wen Wei Po and Ta Kung Pao, played up in the headlines that China was unequivocal on the question of sovereignty. The 1997 question could be resolved easily should Britain stop playing the sovereignty card. The SCMP highlighted that China wanted HK to be governed by local people on reversion of sovereignty, but that did not necessarily mean a democratic government for HK, while the HK Standard story was headlined “UK going too far on 'sovereignty' ". Similar points were played up by major independent papers.
Mr. Moyle's press conference prompted two papers to comment. Ta Kung said he had taken a pragmatic and sensible approach on the question of HK's future. Sino-British relations could be further enhanced only if there was an early solution of the lease issue. The Financial Daily said his statement as the Labour Party's No. 2 spokesman on foreign affairs should carry weight. The most significant point in his statement was that there should be close economic relations between the two countries which should override disputes over politics, sovereignty and the treaties governing HK. This would put the diplomatic talks on the right track where a compromise could be found.
5.
SHENZHEN AIRPORT:
The Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, Mr. Zhou Ding, said on 7 April that an international airport project in Shenzhen had been included in Guangdong's five-year development plan. A possible site had been identified near Xi Xiang fronting the Pearl River estuary. Meanwhile work would begin within two months to build a heliport mainly for flights to logistics bases for the South Sea Oil exploration.
Commenting on this, the Executive Director of the HK Tourist Association, Mr. John Pain, said HK would lose out to China in attracting tourists if an international airport was built in Shenzhen. The Government's decision not to build the replacement airport at Chek Lap Kok, coupled with the fact that Kai Tak would soon reach a saturation point, was bad news for tourism industry.
Earlier, Kung Sheung Daily News quoted informed sources as saying that China was exploring the feasibility of entering into a joint-venture with the HK Government to build an airport in Deep Bay. The Shenzhen Development Co. was sounding out the Government's interest in the project via an architectural firm which had drawn up a blueprint for the Deep Bay airport with the Boeing Co. It quoted a senior official of the Civil Aviation Department as saying that the plan merited consideration.
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