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041274 MDLTAN 9192
POLICY IN CHINA MAKE BUSINESSMEN HERE CAUTIOUS ABOUT NEW INVESTMENT IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE. IN THE LONGER TERM, ZHU SAID THAT HE SEES SHANGHAI'S INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE AND ITS STRENGTH IN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY AS COMPLEMENTING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS WHICH HONG
KONG BUSINESSMAN CAN BRING TO THE AREA. DURING THE COURSE OF THE
VISIT WANG DAOHAN PRIVATELY ASKED FOR INFORMATION ON OUR PORT AND AIRPORT PLANS AND IN PARTICULAR THEIR FINANCING, AS REFERENCE FOR SHANGHAI'S OWN PORT AND AIRPORT PLANS. WE ARE PROVIDING THIS.
5. AT A MEETING WITH ME ON 13 JUNE (FULL RECORD BY BAG) ZHU
THANKED ME FOR OUR HELP WITH HIS VISIT. THERE HAD IN FACT BEEN ONE SMALL HITCH, WHEN HE WAS MET BY A SMALL GROUP OF VOCIFEROUS DEMONSTRATORS ON HIS ARRIVAL AT THE AIRPORT, BUT HE DISMISSED THIS AS NOTHING. HE WAS ALSO CLEARLY PLEASED BY PUBLIC WORDS OF WELCOME
WHICH I GAVE AT A DINNER GIVEN BY THE FEDERATION OF HONG KONG INDUSTRIES ON 12 JUNE, WHEN I EXPRESSED HOPE FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF ECONOMIC LINKS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI. BOTH AT THAT DINNER AND AT OUR SUBSEQUENT MEETING, ZHU ALSO THANKED ME FOR OUR EFFORTS WITH THE US TO ASSURE THE RENEWAL OF MFN STATUS FOR CHINA. HE TOLD ME THAT HE HAD FELT A WARM WELCOME FROM EVERYONE HE MET, ALTHOUGH HE ADMITTED THAT HE HAD NOT EXPECTED THE INFLUENCE OF 4
JUNE TO BE STILL SO GREAT HERE.
6.
AT A PRESS CONFERENCE ON 12 JUNE MANY OF THE QUESTIONS, DESPITE HIS BEST EFFORTS, FOCUSED ON DISSIDENTS AND CHINA'S VIEW OF HONG KONG AS A BASE FOR SUBVERSION. ZHU SAID THAT WHATEVER BASE HONG KONG MIGHT BE, HE WAS WILLING TO COME HERE AND BELIEVED THAT MORE THAN 90 PERCENT OF HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE PATRIOTIC. HE SAID THAT ONLY A FEW PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVITISTS REMAINED UNDER DETENTION IN
SHANGHAI AND THAT HE EXPECTED THEY WOULD SOON BE RELEASED. THESE REMARKS WERE CONTRASTED SHARPLY BY THE HONG KONG PRESS WITH LI HOU'S ANTAGONISTIC COMMENTS ON 4 JUNE, WHEN LI AWARDED HONG KONG THE FIRST PRIZE FOR ANTI-CHINA DEMONSTRATIONS. IN MY OWN MEETING WITH ZHU, I TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS OUR HAPPINESS AT THE RELEASE OF YAO YONGZHAN (THE HONG KONG STUDENT RELEASED SHORTLY BEFORE ZHU'S VISIT).
7. THROUGHOUT HIS VISIT ZHU CAME ACROSS AS A NO-NONSENSE MAN OF ACTION WITH A DEFT POLITICIAN'S TOUCH, AND SOMEONE WHO CONSIDERABLY ADMIRED HONG KONG'S ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND ITS POTENTIAL TO HELP SHANGHAI. HE INVITED SIR PIERS JACOBS TO VISIT THE CITY, AND
INVITATION WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE TAKEN UP LATER THIS YEAR. HE ALSO
INVITED ME TO PAY ANOTHER VISIT. I MAY BE ABLE TO DO THIS NEXT YEAR, COMBINED WITH A VISIT TO ZHEJIANG. BUT WE WILL ALSO NEED TO
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