TNAG-1246-FCO40-1560-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 17

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Replacement airport: In connection with the Government's decision to shelve for the time being the replacement airport project, the Standard quoted the FS saying the Government would carry on steadily and calmly whatever was necessary for the future of HK; and he did not think we would have to stop in 1997 or any other year. The paper said political observers viewed construction of a new airport as a test of confidence in HK's future. The SCMP quoted Mr. Bremridge saying the decision was not a political argument in any way; it was economic and budgetary. Dr. Sit attributed

the decision to uncertainty over the future of HK and to technical reasons. He said there was an uneasy feeling and lack of confidence in a quick economic recovery and uncertainty over 1997. He called for co-operation between HK and China on joint airport development. Professor Harris also thought the best plan now and the most sensible was joint venture. The story commented that the go-ahead for the multi-billion dollar project would have been a major boost to confidence here, but the Post in an editorial said any notion that HK had to demonstrate confidence in its long-term future by committing $37 billion to a second airport could only be described as fanciful; the FS's decision must be seen as one that put economic and fiscal realism before political day-dreaming. Putting the project on ice in no way implied a lack of confidence in HK either now or in the future.

Budget: In his Budget speech, Mr. Bremridge, noting that HK suffered from political uncertainty, said this might be inevitable while our long-term future was under discussion, but the Chinese and British Governments had given a clear commitment, endorsed at the highest level, to maintaining the stability and prosperity of the territory. That did not seem to the FS to be depressing, but the uncertainty and the spate of commentaries in the last few months had had an unsettling effect. Internal and external confidence had suffered and the consequences had been felt in all sectors of the economy.

Macau trying to lure HK investors: The Asian Wall Street Journal on 25 February carried a detailed report about Trafalgar Housing's previously reported Macau project which it said was designed to appeal to HK investors by offering buyers the prospect of Portuguese citizenship after six years and ultimately, perhaps, the right to live and work in EEC countries. The article raised a number of questions about the citizenship claim with various members of the Macau Government expressing different interpretations. It said for the equivalent of US$91 000 people from HK could buy a "slim" chance of emigrating to Western Europe through the backdoor. Trafalgar was trying to take advantage of political uncertainty in the British colony to sell 10 000 apartments, and Portugal and Macau were introducing new residency laws designed to attract flight capital. Macau's secretary for administration said. Trafalgar could not deliver on some of its promises and rebuked the developer for misleading potential buyers. Under the scheme, apartment buyers were given Portuguese residency permits and had to visit Macau once a year to renew them. For the smallest of the apartments, buyers were asked to pay Trafalgar US$91 000, two thirds of which paid for the flat, the rest was to be invested in Portugal.

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