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Legco: In Legco on Wednesday, the Hon. Fr. McGovern said the time and energy spent on rent control could more profitably be spent on exerting greater efforts to persuade London and Beijing to get on with reaching an acceptable settlement on HK's future.
Editorial on HK delegation: An editorial in the Standard on May 24 referred to the assurance given to the 12-member HK delegation which recently visited China that China would take great care over the 1997 negotiations and not do anything to upset the prosperity of HK; but prosperity was a matter of relativity. To those on the lower fringes of the sandwiched society, prosperity did not mean a mansion on the Peak: it meant adequate shelter, sufficient food and schooling for their children.
Dr. John Young to teach in Melbourne: The SCMP reported on May 28 that “one of the most outspoken" commentators on the 1997 issue, Dr. John Young of HKU, would be away from HK for a year teaching at Melbourne University. He described as “silly" the idea that his departure signalled a vote of no confidence in the territory's future.
Secondary fence: The SCMP on May 26 reported that the vice-mayor of Shenzhen, Mr. Zhou Xiwu, had said the second boundary fence isolating the SEZ from the rest of China had been completed, but he expressed concern that there might be difficulties manning the new boundary to stop smugglers taking goods into China.
Immigration: A Labour MP, Mr. Stuart Holland, has said HK has a very strong case for a change in status of its citizens under the promised new immigration policy of a future Labour Government.
Editorial: An editorial entitled "Anxiety about 1997 weakens HK dollar" was published in the Asian Wall Street Journal on May 30. A copy is attached.
UK press: The state of the HK dollar was reported by newspapers in the UK, with Robert Cottrell of the Financial Times saying the continuing weakness of the currency was causing local bankers to question the Government's wisdom in maintaining a 10 pc interest tax on HK dollar deposits. The FT also reported that the manufacturing sector here was pulling out of recession with domestic exports growing, according to the Government's latest quarterly economic report. There was coverage in the Times and Guardian of the departure of Vietnamese refugees who preferred to sail on to Taiwan rather than live in "prison style living conditions”.
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BUSINESS ITEMS:
The editorial in the SCMP on May 29 said though China had been hurt by the weakness of our dollar, it must understand that until the confidence of local people was restored, not just in our dollar, but in the continued way of life of our territory, this uncertainty was likely to continue.
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