TNAG-1249-FCO40-1563-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 43

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FM HONG KONG 15050OZ NOV 83

TO HIMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1735 OF 15 NOVEMBER 1983

INDEX

Action Tak

CMIZA

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING AND ROUTINE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON, HONG KONG GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, GENEVA AND BRUSSELS

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE

1. NEARLY ALL PAPERS GAVE FRONT PAGE COVERAGE TO THE FMRST DAY'S SESSION OF THE LATEST ROUND OF TALKS IN PEKING, WITH EXTENSIVE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS. ALL PAPERS REPORTED THAT THE ATMOSPHERE SEEMED FRIENDLY AND PACKED UP JOCULAR REFERENCES TO A PROPOSED GAME OF TENNIS BETWEEN SHR P. CRADOCK AND MR. YAO GUANG. ALL PAPERS ALSO REPORTED THAT THE LEGAL EXPERT ON THE CHINESE TEAM, MR. SHAO THANREN, HAD BEEN REPLACED FOR THIS ROUND BY THE DIRECTOR OF WEST EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT AT THE MFA, MR. GUO FENGMIN. SIR ́P. CRADOCK'S FORTHCOMING FAREWELL VISIT TO HONG KONG WAS ALSO WIDELY REPORTED.

2. TWO INDEPENDENT CHINESE LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE HONG KONG STANDARD CARRIED SPECULATIVE ARTICLES SUGGESTING THAT CHINA HAD PUT FORWARD A TWELVE-POINT PROPOSAL AT THE FUFNITH ROUND OF TALKS AND THAT THE MEETING ON 14 NOVEMBER HAD BEEN DEVOTED TO DISCUSSION OF THIS. (THE STORY APPEARS TO ORIGINATE WITH A LEFTHSH MONTHLY MAGAZINE, QUOTE WIDE ANGLE UNQUOTE, WHICH OFTEN LEAKS DETAILS OF STORIES HAN ITS FORTHCOMING EDITIONS TO SELECTED NEWSPAPERS. THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST CARRIED A FRONT PAGE ARTICLE SUGGESTING THAT, ALTHOUGH THE BRITISH SIDE SOUGHT TO REFUTE ANY NOTMON OF A DEADLINE, THEY WERE KEENLY AWARE OF THE URGENT NEED FOR A SOLUTION.

3. THERE WAS RELATIVELY LITTLE EDITORIAL COMMENT. THE FINANCIAL DAILY (INDEPENDENT) CARRIED A HIGHLY SPECULATIVE EDITORIAL SUGGEST- HING THAT THE ABSENCE MR. SHAO TUENREN MIGHT MEAN THAT THE SIXTH ROUND OF TALKS WAS NO LONGER CONCERNED WITH ISSUES SUCH AS TREATIES AND SOVEREIGNTY, ON WHICH MR. SHAO WAS AN EXPERT. THE EDITORIAL ALSO SUGGESTED THAT LORD COCKFIELD'S VISHIT TO CHINA WAS CONNECTED

WITH THE NEGOTINATIONS..

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