TNAG-1246-FCO40-1560-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 153

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desired a smooth transition of power without reducing HK's economic value and causing social chaos. The committees would be ideally composed of Chinese, British and HK representatives. A letter from Mr. Eric Tang in Sunday's SCMP questioned whether turning HK into an SAR was the answer. He could not understand how the Chinese leaders in Beijing could come up now with a solution to the HK issue. A visit to this "paradise" was actually needed in order to understand thoroughly what made HK tick. Merely maintaining HK's prosperity was not enough. HK had to make progress in order to keep pace with the rapid growth of this modern world.

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INTERNATIONAL PRESS:

Bank of China meets two HK business associations: The Asian Wall Street Journal, reporting the meeting between the Bank of China, the FHKI and the CMA, said such a move (making low-interest loans to local industrialists) could not only encourage investment by manufacturers during the recession but also boost their confidence in HK's future. Representatives of the two organisations said they were optimistic that BOC would agree to their proposal. Unlike most banks, the BOC had substantial HK dollar deposits so it could offer loans priced below the prime rate and still make a profit. This was the first time a BOC official here had made a public statement about assisting HK industries. To demonstrate its willingness to help, BOC had commissioned a comprehensive study of the major industries here, which should be completed in several weeks. Some industrialists were reluctant to invest and purchase new equipment because of HK's uncertain political future. Economists said low interest loans could spur interest here in investing in new plant and machinery. They added, however, that a clearer plan from Beijing for HK after 1997 was required before industrialists started investing heavily. The economists said BOC's lending policies usually reflected the official thinking in Beijing. The economists said that the BOC group could devote more funds to lending to industrialists which was less risky than to property developers. The Journal ended its report with the comment that the BOC had not indicated whether it was willing to offer 20-year mortgages.

The Thursday edition of the International Herald-Tribune had a three-page supplement on HK with many articles about the future of the territory, particularly about the effects of uncertainty on the economy. Copies of the main items are attached, one of which quoted Mr. Ronald F.S. Li as saying that no one would have to) tell the Chinese in Beijing that they could not run HK as well as the British.

Asiaweek: This week's edition of the magazine contains an article by Dr. Joseph Cheng (CU) entitled 'HK citizens push for power'. The introduction said that, whether or not the general HK public was ready, more of the burden of governing themselves - at least in theory - was going to be thrust on them by 1997 when China seemed increasingly likely formally to recover sovereignty over the territory. Due to a combination of factors a nascent citizens' rights movement was making its presence felt in HK. The article said the extent to which HK citizens could succeed in the struggle for their rights depended on their strength and determination.

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