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FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE F CO
TELNO 1735
OF 31094OZ MAY 91
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HKB 182/4
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
44
102255
MDHIAN 9108
TOP COPY Q DIST?
AIRPORT TALKS: PRESS REPORTS, 31 MAY
SUMMARY
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POSSIBLE SIGNS OF MORE CONCILIATORY APPROACH BY CHINESE. BUT
AGGRESSIVE EDITORIAL IN WEN WEI PO. ANOTHER REPORT ON PERCEIVED DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HKG AND HMG.
DETAIL
2.
GU FENGMIN, SPEAKING AT A PUBLIC FUNCTION, SAID THAT THE AIRPORT WOULD NOT/NOT BE DISCUSSED AT THE NEXT JLG MEETING. BUT BOTH SIDES WERE MAINTAINING CONTACTS. GUO DID NOT BELIEVE THAT
THE TALKS HAD BROKEN DOWN AND WAS HOPEFUL ABOUT THE PROJECT.
3.
NCNA VICE DIRECTOR, ZHANG JUNSHENG, ALSO SAID THAT THE CHINESE AND BRITISH NEGOTIATING TEAMS WERE KEEPING IN TOUCH.
ZHANG DECLINED TO SPECULATE WHAT THE CHINESE RESPONSE MIGHT BE
WERE HKG TO SHELVE THE PROJECT.
THE EXPRESS QUOTED SOURCES CLOSE TO THE CHINESE SIDE AS SAYING THAT THE BRITISH AND CHINESE HAD AGREED AFTER THE LAST ROUND OF TALKS THAT THEY WOULD FULLY RESUME CONTACTS ON THE AIRPORT. THIS WOULD BE THROUGH DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS, AFTER ROBIN MCLAREN ASSUMED HIS NEW POST, IN ORDER TO HOLD THE NEXT ROUND OF TALKS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
5. WEN WEI PO IN AN EDITORIAL SAID THAT HKG HAD MAINTAINED ALL ALONG THAT THE NEW AIRPORT WAS IN HONG KONG'S INTERESTS. HKG SHOULD MAKE PUBLIC THE DETAILS OF THE AIRPORT, SO THAT HK PEOPLE COULD DECIDE WHETHER THE BRITISH PROPOSAL WAS REALISTIC AND IN LINE WITH THE LONG TERM INTERESTS OF HK PEOPLE. THE CHINESE HAD REPEATEDLY EXPRESSED THE HOPE THAT THE TALKS COULD BE MADE MORE TRANSPARENT AND THAT HK PEOPLE BE ALLOWED TO TAKE PART IN THE PROJECT. BUT THE BRITISH HAD REFUSED TO ALLOW HK PEOPLE'S PARTICIPATION AND WOULD NOT/NOT EVEN AGREE TO THE CHINESE
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