TNAG-1250-FCO40-1564-Press-reports-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 9

GRS 650

RESTRICTED

'

TOP COPY HKK 040/2

RESTRICTED

FM HONG KONG 28090OZ DEC 83

TO ROUTINE F C O

TELEGRAM NUMBER 2029 OF 28 DECEMBER

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

29 DEL 1983

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

PA

(345

REGISTRY

Action Taken

AFB / CHB/

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

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PRESS COVERAGE.

1

•

A LENGTHY AND WIDE-RANGING INTERVIEW GIVEN TO 'DER SPIEGEL.'' BY HUAN XIANG OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HAS ATTRACTED SOME ATTENTION TO THE LOCAL PRESS. IN ITS SUMMARY OF THE INTERVIEW AFP ON 24 DECEMBER DESCRIBED HUAN AS PREMIER ZHAO ZIYANG'S FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER' AND QUOTED HIM AS HAVING SAID-''IF A CHINESE IN HONG KONG DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE UNDER THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC, HE ONLY HAS TO EMIGRATE. ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, HUAN SAID THAT THERE WAS NO QUESTION OF HOLDINGA REFERENDUM TO DISCOVER IF HONG KONG WOULD RATHER CONTINUE AS A BRITISH COLONY. THE NEW TERRITORIES FORMED 96 PER CENT OF HONG KONG AND WILL HAVE TO BE HANDED OVER IN ANY CASE. THE REMAINDER OF THE TERRITORY CEDED IN PERPETUITY TO BRITAIN WOULD ALSO HAVE TO BE HANDED BACK BECAUSE ITS POPULATION IS 98 PER CENT CHINESE'' THE STORY WAS GIVEN FAIRLY PROMINENT COVERAGE IN SEVERAL INDEPENDENT AND THE MINOR LEFT-WING NEWSPAPERS ON 24 DECEMBER. ALTHOUGH THE ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST PUBLISHED A FRONT-PAGE STORY ON 26 DECEMBER CLAIMING THAT THE MAJOR COMMUNIST NEWSPAPERS HAD NOT (NOT) CARRIED HUAN'S INTERVIEW AS A MARK OF CENSURE, THE TA KUNG PAO (COMMUNIST) ON 27 DECEMBER PUBLISHED THE FULL TEXT OF IT (ALTHOUGH WITHOUT FURTHER COMMENTARY).

•

2. AN EDITORIAL IN THE NEW EVENING POST (COMMUNIST) ON 24 DECEMBER IDENTIFIED THREE FUTURE-RELATED ISSUES OUT OF THE TEN MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG OVER THE PAST YEAR. THESE WERE (1) PROGRESS IN THE SINO-BRITISH TALKS (2) INCREASED PUBLIC DEBATE AND AWARENESS OF THE ISSUE. IN THIS REGARD NCNA DIRECTOR XU JIATUN HAD PROVIDED A VALUABLE ROLE AS A BRIDGE OF COMMUNICATIONS'' (3) HONG KONG'S PARTICIPATION IN THE GUANGDON NUCLEAR PROJECT AT

DA YA BAY.

3. ALL LEFT-WING NEWSPAPERS ON 26 DECEMBER GAVE SOME PROMINENCE TO A COMMENTARY IN SUNDAY'S ''PEKING REVIEW'' WRITTEN BY THE MAGAZINE'S POLITICAL EDITOR, AN ZHIGUO. ALTHOUGH THE COMMENTARY WAS PHINCIPALLY DEVOTED TO TAIWAN, IT REAFFIRMED CHINA'S DETERMINATION TO RECOVER SOVEREIGNTY OVER HONG KONG BY 1997 WHEN THE TERRITORY WOULD THEN REMAIN A FREE PORT AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CENTRE. IN THE REUNITED CHINA, TAIWAN AND HONG KONG WOULD BE ALLOWED TO KEEP THEIR SOCIAL SYSTEMS AND STYLES OF LIFE FOR A LONG TIME TO COME'

RESTRICTED

/4.

i