TNAG-2287-FCO40-3290-Chinese-personalities-involved-with-Hong-Kong-1991 — Page 76

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Reg: Noke deshibution para 4.

162721 MDTTAN 9797

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FM PEKING

TO TELELETTER F CO

TELELETTER N FR

OF 140645Z MARCH 91

HKC010/1

AIS

л

9

AND TO TELELETTER HONG KONG, B T C HONG KONG, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

FROM

TELELETTER

P. CLARK, PEKING

NFR OF 14 MARCH 1991

FOLLOWING FOR A. SEATON, F F D F C 0)

COPIED TO:

PA,

S. BRADLEY, D P A, HONG KONG

J. CURRIE, B T C, HONG KONG

D. MARTIN, UKREP JLG, HONG KONG

DENG XIAOPING: LIFE BEGINS AT 86.

M

Mr.çox Mr Sainty

PW ройманный

19/3

SUMMARY.

1.

MORE SIGNS OF A DENG XIAOPING RESURGENCE. THIS MAY INDICATE

EFFORTS BY HIM TO REGAIN THE INITIATIVE FOR THE REFORMIST CAUSE.

DETAIL.

2. THE RAISING OF DENG XIAOPING'S PUBLIC PROFILE CONTINUES.

THERE WAS A PERIOD LAST YEAR WHEN HE WAS NOT ONLY NOT APPEARING

IN PUBLIC BUT THE OFFICIAL MEDIA WERE HARDLY MENTIONING HIM AT

ALL. LI PENG IN PARTICULAR SEEMED DETERMINED NOT TO REFER TO HIM BY NAME AND SEEMED KEEN TO DESCRIBE THE SUCCESSES OF REFORM AS A

COLLECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE OLDER GENERATION OF REVOLUTIONARIES.

ARTICLES CRITICAL OF THE MISTAKES MADE BETWEEN 1984 AND 1988 WERE

AN IMPLIED CRITICISM OF DENG'S ROLE. RUMOURS OF CHRONIC ILL HEALTH WERE PERSISTENT AND HAD THE RING OF PLAUSIBILITY.

THIS CHANGED TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR. THE MEDIA AND SENIOR FIGURES BECAME ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT CREDITING DENG WITH THE LEADING ROLE IN THE REFORM MOVEMENT AND IN DECEMBER HE MADE HIS FIRST OFFICIALLY-NOTED PUBLIC APPEARANCE SINCE MAY CHE WAS SPOTTED IN

JULY BUT THE EVENT WAS NOT RECORDED BY THE CHINESE PRESS).

HE APPEARED AGAIN ON 14 FEBRUARY IN SHANGHAI FOR THE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS. ON 12 MARCH, MAJOR NEWSPAPERS CARRIED FRONT PAGE INSCRIPTIONS BY DENG AND JIANG ZEMIN ON THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TREE-PLANTING CAMPAIGN AND ALSO ARTICLES ON THE PART DENG HAD PLAYED IN THIS EXERCISE SINCE HE FIRST PROPOSED IT IN 1981. PEOPLE'S DAILY HAD AN UNDATED PHOTOGRAPH OF DENG PLANTING A TREE

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