TNAG-1250-FCO40-1564-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 22

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FM HONG KONG 150745Z DEC 83

TO IMMEDIATE F C O

TELEGRAM NUMBER 1949 OF 15 DECEMBER

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

FUTURE OF HONG KONG : PRESS COVERAGE.

RECCV ON KEGISTRY

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A NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT CHINESE LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS AND THE PRO-CHINA TIN TIN DAILY NEWS REPORTED PROMINENTLY REMARKS BY A PUNEL OF AMERICAN CHINOS CHINA EXPERTS ON HONG KONG'S FUTURE AT A FORUM IN WASHINGTON SPONSORED BY A CONSERVATIVE RESEARCH ORGANISATION PROFESSOR MICHAEL KAO OF BROWM UNIVARSITY WAS QUOTED AS HAVING SAID THAT NO MATTER QHUT ARRANGEMENT THE BRITISH AND CHINESE GOVERNMENTS CAME TO, HE DID NOT THINK THAT IT WOULD WORK. BRIVTAIN HAD RETREATED QUICKLY IN ITS BARGAINING POSTITION. AFTER INITIALLY OFFERING TO RETURN SOVEREIGNTY IN EXCHANGE FOR CONTIMUED BRITISH ADMINISTRATION, WHICH CHINA HAD REJECTED, BRITAIN PROPOSED FIRST JOINT BRITISH/CHINESE ADMINISTRATION AND THEN A MINOR BRITISH ADMINISTCATIVE ROLE. ANOTHER PARTICIPANT WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE PROSPECTS OF MAINTAINING THE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY OF HONG KONG UNDER THE PRC'S PROPOSALS WERE POOR, BECAUSE MOST HONG KONG PEOPLE HAD NO (NO) CONFIDENCE IN THEM. HOWEVER, HE SUGGESTED THAT HONG KONG WOULD BE UNLIKELY TO COLLAPSE SUDDENLY.

DESCRIBED

2.NTHE PRO-CHINA TIN TIN DAILY NEWS IN A COMMENTARY, THE EXPERTS AS 'ARM-CHAIR CRITICS'', WHO SPOKE AS IF THEY TOOK PART IN THE TALKS AND KNEW WHAT HAD BEEN DISCUSSED. THEIR REMARKS WERE POINTLESS AND IDIOTIC. THEY SHOULD COME TO HONG KONG AND PERHAPS TO PEKING TO COLLECT INFORMATION AT FIRST HAND.

3. THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE HONG KONG STUNDARD AND THE SING PO (INDEPENDENT) REPORTED 'ELFT-QING CIRCLES' AS HAVING CAUTIONED AGAINST BEING OVER-OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE NEGOTIATIONS IN SPITE OF RECENT REFERENCES TO ''PROGRESS''. THE BRITISH HAD ONLY SET ASIDE

NNOT SOME QUESTIONS AT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE,NAND HAVE, SOR FAR„^ GIVEN ANY INDICATION AS TO THE ABOLITION OF THE ROYAL INSTRUCTIONS THAT GIVE POWER TO COLONIAL RULE IN HONG KONG. THEY ARE ONLY USING WORDS WHICH ARE ACCEPTABLE TO THE CHINESE TO SECURE THE GREATEST BENEFIT FOR THEMSELVES''. THE SAME SOURCES WERE QUOTED AS ACCUSING THE BRITISH OK STILL TRYING TO DELAY THE CONCLUSION

OF THE TALKS.

4. THE FRINGE LEFT-WING TIN FUNG DAILY IN ITS EDITORIAL ATTACKED THE HONG KONG OBSERVERS POSITION PAPER FOR REFERRING TO FEAR OF ABRUPT CHANGE IN 1997. THIS PASSAGE COULD BE INTERPRETED AS OPPOSITION BY THE OBSERVERS TO CHINA REGAINING SOVEREIGNTY AND SUPPORT FOR CONTINUED BRITISH ADMINISTRATION. THESE YELLOW-FACED PEOPLE WERE SPEAKING LIKE THE WHITE-FACED BRITISH OFFICIALS IN HONG KONG, WHO WISHED TO MAINTAIN THEIR PRIVILEGED STATUS.

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