TNAG-1602-FCO40-2198-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1987 — Page 63

DRAFTING OF THE BASIC LAW AND WOULD ALSO HELP CONVERGENCE. ANN QUON IN THE SCMP SAID THAT DENG UNUSUALLY PRAISING WHAT THE GOVERNOR HAD SAID MIGHT IMPLY THAT THE SPEECH HAD BEEN CLEARED WITH THE

CHINESE IN ADVANCE.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

22. DENG'S REMARKS ON POPULAR ELECTIONS, THE ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS' CONCEPT AND THE FUTURE OF HK DREW A MIXED RECEPTION FROM LEADER WRITERS, COLUMNISTS AND COMMENTATORS. NEWSPAPERS GENERALLY CONSIDERED TO BE PRO-CHINA REACTED FAVOURABLY TO DENG'S COMMENTS AND DESCRIBED THEM AS A CONFIDENCE BOOSTER: BUT SOME OF THE INDEP- ENDENT PAPERS AND THEIR COMMENTATORS WERE CRITICAL OF WHAT DENG HAD SAID. OTHER PAPERS EXPRESSED MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT DENG'S

PRONOUNCEMENTS.

23. MING PAO SAID THAT MANY OF DENG'S REMARKS HAD INCREASED HK PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE, BUT SOME OF HIS COMMENTS COULD MAKE PEOPLE ILL AT EASE. THE PAPER ARGUED THAT DENG HAD NOT ENTIRELY RULED OUT- DIRECT ELECTIONS. BUT HE HAD GIVEN GROUNDS FOR HK PEOPLE TO WORRY ABOUT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AFTER 1997. SING TAO JIH PAO ECHOED

THE SAME FEELINGS.

24. TA KUNG PAO, COMMENTING ON DENG'S REMARK THAT CHANGES IN HK MUST BE GRADUAL AND STEP BY STEP, INTERPRETED THIS TO MEAN THAT ''ONE SHOULD NOT SEE 1997 AS SOME KIND OF DEADLINE. IN PARTICULAR, ONE SHOULD NOT TREAT 1988 AS A DEADLINE. THERE IS NO NEED TO SET

A DEADLINE AND THEN RUSH HEADLONG INTO DRASTIC REFORMS, TO THE

DETRIMENT OF PROSPERITY AND STABILITY. THE PAPER ADDED THAT THE

CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAD NO PRE-CONCEIVED IDEAS ON WHETHER THERE

SHOULD BE DIRECT ELECTIONS TO HK'S LEGISLATURE.

25. WEN WEI PO SAID DENG DID NOT GIVE HK PEOPLE UNREALISTIC

PROMISES BUT EXPLAINED IN A PRACTICAL WAY THE UNFAVOURABLE AS WELL AS FAVOURABLE ELEMENTS OF THE ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS' PRINCIPLE

IN THE HOPE OF SECURING THEIR SUPPORT IN MAKING THE CONCEPT A

SUCCESS. BOTH CHINA'S AND HK PEOPLE'S INTERESTS MUST BE TAKEN

INTO ACCOUNT AND THERE MUST BE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING AND TRUST.

26.

THE CENTRE DAILY NEWS SAID THAT THERE WAS A PURPOSE IN DENG'S

REMARKS. SOME POLITICAL ACTIVISTS IN HK ARE PLANNING TO USE DEMOCRACY AS A SMOKESCREEN AND A HIGH DEGREE OF AUTONOMY AS A MEANS TO TURN THE ''ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS CONCEPT INTO A ''TWO COUNTRIES, TWO SYSTEMS' CONCEPT,'' THE PAPER ASSERTED. ''MR. DENG WAS TRYING TO WARN OFF SUCH DISSIDENTS.''

27.

THE HK DAILY NEWS ARGUED THAT DENG WAS NOT OPPOSED TO DIRECT ELECTIONS IN HK. IT SAID THAT CONDITIONS WERE RIPE FOR DIRECT POLLS IN HK. **THE INTRODUCTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS IN HK IN 1988 ACCORDS WITH DENG'S WAY OF THINKING AND IS GENERALLY SUPPORTED BY THE PEOPLE OF HK'', IT SAID. SING PAO SAID THAT POLITICAL REFORMS BEFORE 1997

SHOULD BE FORMULATED ON THE BASIS OF THE WAY HK DID THINGS.

**REFORMS BEFORE 1997 SHOULD NOT BE BASED ON THE VIEWS OF THE

PEKING GOVERNMENT OR ANYONE OF ITS LEADERS,'' IT SAID.

CONFIDENTIAL

128.