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HKE 182 14
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FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1608
OF 22110OZ MAY 91
TOP COPY Q DIST?
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
25
052240
MDHIAN 7808
AIRPORT TALKS: PRESS ROUND-UP: 18-22 MAY
SUMMARY
1. INTENSE PRESS INTEREST AND SPECULATION, BUT FEW REPORTS OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE. NO EVIDENCE YET OF BACKGROUND BRIEFING BY THE CHINESE.
DETAIL
2. THE HONG KONG PRESS HAS GIVEN BLANKET COVERAGE TO THE AIRPORT
TALKS WITH EVERY PUBLIC STATEMENT BY BOTH SIDES REPORTED IN FULL. BUT THESE HAVE NOT GIVEN REPORTERS MUCH TO GET THEIR TEETH INTO. CHEN ZUO'ER, WANG FENGCHAO, CHEN ZIYING AND LU PING WERE ALL QUOTED ON 18 MAY IN FAMILIAR TERMS: CHINA'S OBJECTIVES TO MAINTAIN LONG TERM STABILITY AND PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG, CHINA ADOPTED A RESPONSIBLE ATTITUDE, CALLS FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY, ADHERENCE TO THE JD, IF BOTH SIDES CO-OPERATED AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED ETC. WANG PINQING, AN NCNA VICE-DIRECTOR, WAS QUOTED ON 22 MAY AS HOPING THAT AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED. ON MAJOR PRINCIPLES, CHINA COULD NOT/NOT MAKE CONCESSIONS. CHINA HAD YIELDED WHERE THEY COULD MAKE CONCESSIONS. BURNS VARIOUS COMMENTS HAVE ALSO BEEN WIDELY REPORTED.
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3. THE COMMUNIST PRESS HAVE GIVEN THE TALKS SIMILARLY WIDE COVERAGE, WITH AN INEVITABLE EMPHASIS ON THE STANDARD CHINESE LINE. FOR EXAMPLE, A COLUMN IN WEN WEI PO OF 22 MAY REPEATED THAT CHINA'S PRINCIPLED STANCE OVER THE AIRPORT ISSUE AND ALL ISSUES STRADDLING 1997 WOULD NOT/NOT BE CHANGED. MORE AND MORE PEOPLE NOW UNDERSTOOD THE CHINESE POSITION. ANOTHER COLUMN IN WEN WEI PO ON 20 MAY HOPED THAT BOTH SIDES WOULD TRY TO MAKE CONCESSIONS AND NOT INSIST ON THEIR ORIGINAL PROPOSALS. THE SAME PAPER QUESTIONED WHETHER KAI TAK WOULD BE SATURATED BY 1993.
4. TA KUNG PAO CARRIED A COLUMN ON 20 MAY, SAYING THAT EVERYONE WANTED A NEW AIRPORT BUT THE PROJECT WOULD NOT/NOT SUCCEED IF THERE WAS NO CONSULTATION OR CO-OPERATION. HOWEVER, THE WRITER WA'S CONFIDENT THAT DISAGREEMENTS WOULD BE RESOLVED SHORTLY.
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