TNAG-1245-FCO40-1559-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 83

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Media Summary on Hong Kong's Future

Period: April 25 - May 2, 1983

INTRODUCTION:

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The past week has been "quiet" in the media about 1997 and the major story - the "appointment" of a new head of Xinhua in Hong Kong could be described as speculative in that the agency would neither confirm nor deny that Mr. Xu Jiatun had been appointed First Director to succeed Mr. Wang Kuang.

A HK Government delegation, headed by the Political Adviser, visited Shenzhen on Thursday and Friday of last week; at a press conference on his return, Mr. McLaren revealed that work on a barrier to separate Shenzhen from the rest of Guangdong Province would be completed by the end of the year, and would have the secondary effect of cutting down the flow of illegal immigrants.

On Tuesday, the Financial Daily said informal contacts through the press were taking place in an attempt to reconcile differences between China and Britain over the future of HK. The paper said the contacts were between the editor of the most prestigious English- language newspaper in HK and the chiefs of left-wing newspapers.

There was wide reporting of the arrival of Mr. Wang Guangying to set up a "huge corporation" in HK to buy overseas technology with the aim of helping China to modernise. Mr. Wang, although prepared to say that his corporation would be multi-national, would not elaborate on its financial structure.

Various personalities commented on HK's future, including Mr. T.L. Tsim, whose analysis of 1997 in the SCMP last week has been widely praised. He said on ATV's "Newsline" that Chinese leaders were wrong to believe that HK's prosperity and stability could be preserved without the participation of the British.

In the English-language press, the SCMP picked up the story about the "appointment" of a new head of Xinhua, reporting that Mr. Xu was the most senior man ever to hold the job; the Post saw this as an indication that China was serious about finding a solution to the problem of HK's future.

ITEMS:

1.

MR. XU JIATUN TO SUCCEED MR. WANG KUANG?:

On 27 April, two independent papers, Sing Pao and Sing Tao Jih Pao, reported that the former First Secretary of Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, Mr. Xu Jiatun, would succeed Mr. Wang Kuang as First Director of Xinhua in HK. Mr. Xu, aged 68, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and a close follower of the General Secretary, Mr. Hu Yaobang. He has held a number of important posts in Jiangsu and Fujian provinces

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