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Barry Choi in the SCMP of 16 February dealt with the Falklands Islands issue in the light of the Franks report and said if one lesson could be drawn from the way in which Britain handled the dispute with Argentina to help better understand the British approach to the HK question, it was Britain's determination to respect the wishes of Falkland Islanders. In HK's case, local people's views would also play a vital part in the Sino-British negotiations. This promise was made by Mrs. Thatcher and had been reinforced by Lord Belstead when he said any agreement about HK's future must be acceptable to the people of HK, as well as the two parties in the talks. But he said Britain had yet to demonstrate its pledge that HK people's views would be given due weight in working out a solution; so what lengths Britain would go to honour such a pledge if China's wishes ran against those of HK people, bearing in mind HK was largely indefensible - no one knew. And nobody knew yet how much or how little the Executive Council was prepared to settle for.
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The latest edition of Asiaweek magazine dwelt on the Year of the Pig and asked two fortune-tellers how close would London and Beijing come to resolving the question of HK's future. One, Mr. Lam Kwok-hung, replied that the problem could not be solved in the coming year. There would not be any especially important breakthrough in negotiations, but according to astrology China would eventually regain sovereignty over HK. There would be great changes in the system and society of HK in 1997. Mr. C.K. Tseng said China's leader, Mr. Deng Xiaoping, would hold a trump card on the HK issue. Mrs. Thatcher would try to let the 'natives' of HK run
their own affairs.
The "Through Western Eyes' column by Ken Carr in the HK Standard on 19 February dealt with a talk Mr. Carr gave to a meeting of the United Nations Association of HK. He said the questions afterwards concentrated on that part of the speech dealing with political freedom, from which the writer gathered that the majority felt HK could well do without the guidance of Britain or China.
BUSINESS ITEMS:
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The papers reported a 30 per cent jump in HK/China trade in 1982 to $3.8 billion, up $882 million on the previous year. China is now HK's fourth largest export market. Exports to the US were $31 billion; to the UK and West Germany $7 billion. China overtook Japan to become HK's number one supplier, imports amounting to $33 billion.
CONFIDENTIAL
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