TNAG-1299-FCO40-1655-Visit-by-Sir-Geoffrey-Howe--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-a-1984 — Page 38

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He had accepted the historical development and would honour the commitment which fell squarely upon him. People should not cast doubt or misinterpret his statement. They should also not stand in the way or sabotage his efforts in this area, which were in line with the principle of Sino-British co-operation and the long term interests of the five million people here. Its sister afternoon paper, Wah Kiu Man Pao, said the greatest contribution made by Sir Geoffrey in his trip was to give a very clear outline of HK's prospects. The Idea of turning HK into a special region as envisaged by leaders of both countries was the possible settlement, but HK people were worried about the implementation of such an agreement.

The Express sald Sir Geoffrey made his announcement here on Good Friday and left on Easter Sunday, the day Jesus Christ rose from grave. He had left some questions unanswered, l.e. how to protect the rights of HK people and how to reflect the true public opinion here. Although this was a mere coincidence, it would go down in HK's history as another fascinating chapter. Sir Geoffrey had refuted the idea of a sell-out, but it would not be surprising to find that local people had such a feeling.

Sing Pao said there was still a large gap between Britain and China over the issue of concrete assurances. Sir Geoffrey's statement in HK had formally spelt out Britain's position. It was completely different from speculation or rumours. If Parliament accepted this stance, this "cheque" would definitely be honoured,

HK Daily News said Sir Geoffrey's statement did more harm than good to HK because people here, particularly those who were better off, were worried that under Chinese sovereignty HK would not remain unchanged In the long term. Sing Tao Wan Pao said the most important issue now was to what extent autonomy in HK would be allowed and what was the binding effect of the agreement on HK's future. Oriental Daily News said the first public response to Sir Geoffrey's statement was from property developers who considered that the sales of flats would pick up later this year. This was a clear Indication that most HK people would continue to stay here. In its leading article, Ming Pao recapped extracts from the paper's two editorials in 1981 to bring out the point that the current state of affairs was visualised by the paper three years ago. This was the only course of development and there were no other alternatives. People should not make any complaint or accusation against any parties or individuals. Both British and Chinese officials strived to respect the wishes of HK people in negotiating a settlement for HK.

The pro-Taiwan HK Times said in order to achieve the goal of a high degree of autonomy, HK people should get together to oppose and reject any agreement which was against HK people's wishes. Political parties should be formed on the basis of existing community groups to ensure that the process of democratisation here would work properly. There should be a referendum to decide on the shape of autonomy to be carried out here, and the wishes of local people should be made known to the world.