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3. On 3 October the paper carried prominently remarks of Lin Liyun, Chairman of the all-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, given in an interview with Xinhua. She said that the Hong Kong and Taiwan issues were both problems left over from history which were expected to be settled through peaceful negotiations in order to maintain the prosperity and stable life of the people in both areas. She maintained that Taiwan compatriots were concerned to see China recover sovereignty over Hong Kong.
4. On 5 October, a prominent headline ("Hong Kong now and in the future will always be a market of enormous potential") 7 led off a Mingpao report of comments made in Hong Kong by
the State Governor of Missouri.
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5. The paper on 7 October carried a round up of comments from Ta Kung Pao, Tin Tin Yat Pao and Chung Pao (Central Daily News) criticising Mr Luce's remarks at his press conference on 28 September. On the same day there was a piece critical of Conservative MPs who came to Hong Kong "in search of public opinion". Their activities were merely part of attempts by the British to play the "public opinion card". The article quoted Hong Kong Urban Councillor Mrs Elsie Elliott as having pointed out that these MPs only listened to the views of elite and wealthy Chinese in Hong Kong. Such people naturally wished British administration to continue in order to preserve their privileges.
6. In a slightly different context, I should add that we have seen press reports of remarks about Hong Kong made by Hu Yaobang and Vice Foreign Minister Qian Qichen (who hitherto has not been involved in the Hong Kong issue) to Japanese contacts. According to Xinhua on 30 September, the Chairman of the Japanese Socialist Party said that Hu had told him that China's recovery of sovereignty over Hong Kong would not affect Japan's economic interests there. According to an AFP report of 3 October, Qian, while on a visit to Tokyo, said that China hoped to complete the talks within a year. He added that the talks were not about sovereignty, but about the transitional period to 1997 and Hong Kong's continued prosperity thereafter.
her,
Yours
Tom.
cc: P I Webb Esq, APA, Hong Kong
T W M Smith
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