RESTRICTED
Media Summary on Hong Kong's Future
Period: March 8 14, 1983
INTRODUCTION:
The Governor's visit to London was routinely reported in the Chinese-language and English-language newspapers, with very little speculation. The fact that Sir Edward Youde met Mrs. Thatcher on two occasions drew the most interest and prompted the SCMP to interpret this as evidence of the importance the PM attached to a successful outcome to the 1997 issue.
There was a flurry on Friday when three papers, Hong Kong Times, Oriental Daily and SCMP, carried reports saying China was becoming impatient with Britain and would take back sovereignty later this year. By Saturday, the rest of the Press were casting doubts on the reports and commentators were using words such as "groundless" and "impossible".
In an exclusive, the Economic Journal reported on 12 March that the HK branch of Xinhua had arranged for local groups, including three Legco members, to go to Beijing.
Widely covered was the arrival in HK of the Chinese Water Conservancy and Electric Power delegation, led by the vice-minister, Mr. Li Peng, for discussions on the proposed nuclear power plant to be built at Daya Bay.
The Financial Daily picked up a change in the wording of the declaration when China established diplomatic regulations with Angola and the Ivory Coast: the new wording says the People's Republic of China is the only legitimate Government to represent all Chinese people.
In the English-language papers, the SCMP devoted quite a lot of space to the item about China regaining sovereignty this year: besides covering the original story (having been tipped off, it was reported, by the HK Times), the paper also followed up with reaction on Saturday and an editorial on Monday deploring speculation of the kind that attempted to upset and disturb our people.
ITEMS:
1.
GOVERNOR RETURNS:
The Governor's and Sir Percy Cradock's programme in London received routine coverage in the Chinese-language press with day-to-day accounts of their activities, highlighting the two meetings with Mrs. Thatcher. Sir Edward's return on 12 March was prominently covered by major independent and right-wing papers. The left-wing Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po gave only moderate coverage. On his return, Sir Edward reiterated the importance of confidentiality in the diplomatic talks. He said the discussions in the UK would be very useful for Sir Percy in returning to Beijing to prepare for the talks. Sir Percy said there had been face-to-face talks on Hong Kong's future between the two governments. The date for the next round of talks had not yet been agreed. Wah Kiu Yat Po quoted reliable sources
RESTRICTED
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.