TNAG-1250-FCO40-1564-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 20

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FM HONG KONG 16044OZ DEC 93

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1955 OF 16 DECEMBER

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

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INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON,-PEKING INFO ROUTINE HK GOVT REPS WASHINGTON, CG NEW YORK, UKMIS GENEVA, BRUSSELS

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE.

1. FUTURE RELATED STORIES IN BOTH THE INDEPENDENT AND COMMUNIST

PRESS WERE TODAY LIMITED TO SHORT ACCOUNTS OF AN ARTICLE IN THE

LATEST ISSUE OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY JOURNAL RED FLAG

AND TO REACTIONS TO MISS DOROTHY LIU'S REMARKS (MY TELNO 1949).

2. WEN WEI PO AND TA KUNG PAO (BOTH COMMUNIST) AND SOME INDEPENDENT PAPERS REPORTED AN INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF RED FLAG:

BY CENTRAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBER LI WEILAN. LI SAID THAT

CHINA'S UNITED FRONT STRATEGY TOWARDS HONG KONG AND TAIWAN DID NOT REQUIRE THE COMPATRIOTS THERE TO SUPPORT SOCIALISM. ALL THAT WAS REQUIRED WAS A CONSENSUS ON THE PROMOTION OF REUNIFICATION, SOVEREIGN INTEGRITY, MAKING THE COUNTRY STRONG AND EFFICIENT AND GIVING HAPPINESS TO THE PEOPLE.

3. TA KUNG PAO CARRIED A SHORT COMMENTARY CRITICAL OF DOROTHY LIU'S SUGGESTION THAT OVERSEAS LEGAL EXPERTS SHOULD BE HIRED TO DRAFT HONG KONG'S MINI-CONSTITUTION. THE COMMENTATOR ARGUED THAT WHILST CHINA WOULD LISTEN TO THE OPINIONS OF FOREIGN EXPERT, *IF THEY WERE GOOD', THE ERA OF ALLOWING FOREIGNERS TO HANDLE CHINESE AFFAIRS WAS OVER. CHINESE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN THEMSELVES. THE MINOR LEFT-WING CENTRE DAILY DEWS HOWEVER SAID THAT LIU'S SUGGESTION WAS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION. THE HONG KONG DAILY NEWS (INDEPENDENT) EXPRESSED SURPRISE THAT IT WAS LIU

WHO MADE SUCH A PROPOSAL AND TOOK IT AS AN INDICATION THAT CHINA HAD NOT YET DRAFTED THE MINI-CONSTITUTION FOR HONG KONG.

4. AN EDITORIAL IN THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING FOST REFERRED TO THE NUMBER OF RECENT CONTACTS BETWEEN THE HONG KONG GUANGDONG GOVERNMENTS AND CONTRASTED THE TALKS IN PEKING ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE WITH LOCAL CONTACTS ON THE PRESENT WHICH PROCEEDED SMOOTHLY AND ALMOST UNEVENTFULLY.

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