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136170
MDLIAN 8114
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT.
9. MAINLAND DRAFTER XIAO WEIYUN SAID THAT THE PACE OF DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT AND THE PROPOSAL FOR COUNTING VOTES SEPARATELY WERE TWO SEPARATE ISSUES AND WERE NOT RELATED, MING PAO (12.2) REPORTED. THE SCM POST (13.2) REPORTED THAT LI PENG HAD CALLED T.S. LO AND SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE NEW HK ALLIANCE TO PEKING FOR LAST-MINUTE TALKS ON CHANGES TO THE BICAMERAL MODEL. ELEVEN LOCAL DRAFTERS HAD ARRIVED AT A CONSENSUS TO OPPOSE THE SEPARATE VOTING MECHANISM AS PROPOSED UNDER THE MAINSTREAM FORMULA, THE MEDIA (11.2) REPORTED. THEY AGREED THAT THE PACE OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE QUICKENED. HK DRAFTER LIU YIU-CHU SAID THAT SHE HAD INITIALLY PROPOSED TO DEPUTY DIRECTORS AND GROUP CONVENORS THAT THE SPLIT- VOTING MECHANISM SHOULD BE CONFINED TO PRIVATE MEMBERS' BILLS AND NOT TO GOVERNMENT BILLS, THE MEDIA (13.2) REPORTED.
NATIONALITY
10. SOME 60 CONSERVATIVE MPS, INCLUDING NORMAN TEBBIT, HAD SIGNED A LETTER TO THE MINISTER PROTESTING AGAINST THE NATIONALITY PACKAGE, THE MEDIA (10.2) REPORTED. A THREE-MEMBER BRITISH TEAM, COMPRISING LIZ GRIMSEY AND JEREMY PAGE FROM THE HOME OFFICE AND JOHN MORRIS FROM THE HKD HAD ARRIVED IN HK TO HOLD DISCUSSIONS WITH HK OFFICIALS ON THE PACKAGE, THE MEDIA (11.2) REPORTED. THE DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION, BELIEVED THAT ONLY FIVE PER CENT OF THE 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS TO BE GIVEN THE RIGHT OF ABODE WOULD SETTLE IN THE COUNTRY, THE MEDIA (13.2) REPORTED.
11. THE CHINESE MFA URGED BRITAIN AND FRANCE TO REFRAIN FROM JEOPARDISING THE FUTURE OF HK BY GRANTING THE RIGHT OF ABODE TO HK RESIDENTS, SOME PAPERS (9.2) REPORTED, QUOTING AN AFP DISPATCH. A SPOKESMAN FOR THE MINISTRY REITERATED THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT'S POSITION ON THE ERRONEOUS PRACTICE OF THE UK TO UNILATERALLY DECIDE TO CHANGE THE NATIONALITY OF A PORTION OF HK RESIDENTS. IT WAS HOPED THAT OTHER COUNTRIES WOULD ACT WITH PRUDENCE AND REFRAIN FROM DOING ANYTHING THAT WOULD JEOPARDISE THE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY TO HK. BLDC VICE-DIRECTOR WANG HANBIN SAID THAT HE WAS NOT YET SURE TO WHICH DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HK PEOPLE SHOULD APPLY IN ORDER TO RENOUNCE THEIR CHINESE NATIONALITY, A FEW PAPERS (13.2) REPORTED. HE TOLD NEWSMEN IN PEKING THAT THE NPC WOULD EXAMINE WHETHER A REGULATION STIPULATING THAT CHINESE CIVIL SERVANTS MUST NOT RENOUNCE THEIR NATIONALITY WOULD APPLY TO THE CIVIL SERVICE OF THE FUTURE SAR.
12. THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSUL-GENERAL, PETER BOTHA, SAID THAT THE
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