TNAG-1247-FCO40-1561-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 13

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FM HONG KONG 14093OZ JUN 83

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TELEGRAM NUMBER 801 OF 14 JUNE

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RECEIVED IN REGISTY NO 31

17 JUN 1983

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INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, PEKING

FUTURE OF HONG KONG PRESS COVERAGE

1. ON 11 JUNE (THE FIRST DAY OF THE HOLIDAY WEEK-END) ALL PAPERS GAVE PROMINENT COVERAGE OF THE DEATH ON 10 JUNE OF POLITBURQ MEMBER AND OVERSEAS CHINESE AFFAIRS DIRECTOR LIAO CHENGZHI. THE NEWS WAS THE LEAD ITEM IN THE COMMUNIST PRESS WHICH CARRIED LENGTHY OBITUARIES. MOST INDEPENDENT PAPERS PRINTED ASSESSMENTS OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS, AND OF HIS ROLE IN FORMULATING CHINA'S POLICY TOWARDS HONG KONG AND MACAU, WHILE THERE WERE DIFFERING OPINIONS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF HIS CONTRIBUTION, THERE WAS GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT HIS DEATH WOULD NOT AFFECT CHINA'S STANCE ON THE 1997 QUESTION. SEVERAL INDEPENDENT PAPERS SPECULATED THAT LIAO'S FUNCTIONS IN RELATION TO HONG KONG WOULD BE ASSUMED BY NPC VICE-CHAIRMAN XI ZHONGXUN.

2. THE MAJOR COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS (TA KUNG PAO, WEN WEI PO AND NEW EVENING POST) ALL GAVE PROMINENT COVERAGE TO AND COMMENTED ON A STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE STUDENTS UNION OF THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG. THE STATEMENT TOOK ISSUE WITH THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS' MEMORANDUM (MY TELNO 784), INSISTING THAT SELF-RULE WAS PRACTICABLE THROUGH DEMOCRATISATION AND THE PARTICIPATION OF HONG KONG RESIDENTS. IT ADDED THAT SINCE THE SELF-RULE PROPOSAL WAS STILL IN AN EMBRYONIC STAGE, THERE WAS PLENTY OF TIME AND SCOPE FOR PEOPLE TO DEBATE AND IMPROVE ON THE FORMULATION.

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FUTURE OF HONG KÒNG

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