TNAG-2726-FCO40-3932-Hong-Kong-opinion-polls-on-constitutional-development-1993 — Page 70

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CONTINUING STABILITY AND PROSPERITY. THE REPORT SAID THAT LI'S HONG KONG PROFILE WOULD STILL HAVE TO BE DECIDED AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.

LU PING'S REMARKS ON JLG AND THE AIRPORT

7. LOCAL PRESS (27.3) WIDELY REPORTED LU PING'S REMARKS ON JLG AND THE NEW AIRPORT AFTER MEETING THE NPC DEPUTIES FROM HK AND MACAU. ON THE JLG, LU SAID THERE WERE STILL MANY ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED AND THE GROUP WOULD STILL NEED TO HOLD MEETINGS. ON THE NEW AIRPORT, LU SAID THAT THE CHINESE POSITION HAD REMAINED UNCHANGED. HE HOPED THE NEW AIRPORT WOULD BE COMPLETED BEFORE 1997 BUT THE QUESTION WAS WHETHER THE BRITISH WOULD ABIDE BY THE MOU.

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ACCORDING TO WEN WEI PO (27.3), SOME NPC DEPUTIES QUOTED LU AS SAYING IN THE MEETING THAT IN PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES THE CHINESE HAD TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE BRITISH WOULD GO AHEAD UNILATERALLY WITH THE PROJECT AND THAT THE WHOLE PROJECT COULD NOT BE COMPLETED BY 1997. THE CHINESE WOULD CONSIDER CONTINGENCY MEASURES IN CASE THE BRITISH HAD DAMAGED HK'S ECONOMIC INTERESTS AND LEFT BEHIND A BURDEN TO THE SARG. SING TAO DAILY (27.3) SAID THAT LU HAD INTRODUCED TO DELEGATES THREE WAYS TO SOLVE THE AIRPORT PROBLEM. THEY WERE: DIVERTING CARGO FLIGHTS AS WELL AS HK/CHINA FLIGHTS TO HUANGTIAN: EXPANDING HUANGTIAN TO REPLACE CHEK LAP KOK AIRPORT AND EXPANDING HUANGTIAN TO A STAGE WHERE IT WOULD REPLACE ALL AIRPORTS IN HK.

9. ANTHONY GALSWORTHY WAS QUOTED 927.3) AS SAYING THAT HE WELCOMED LU PING'S REMARKS ON THE NEED TO REOPEN JLG MEETINGS AND THE NEED TO BUILD A NEW AIRPORT IN HK, ADDING THAT THE BRITISH SIDE HAD BEEN ASKING THE CHINES SIDE TO RESPOND TO PROPOSED DATES FOR TALKS SINCE DECEMBER LAST YEAR.

NEW AIRPORT

10. THE HK ECONOMIC JOURNAL (27.3) QUOTED GOVERNMENT SOURCES AS SAYING THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD DRAFTED A NEW PROPOSAL ON CAPITAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE NEW AIRPORT TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO THE PAA. THE PAPER NOTED THAT FORMER FUND ALLOCATIONS TO THE PAA COULD ONLY SUPPORT OPERATIONS UNTIL JUNE BUT AS THE GOVERNMENT HAD INDICATED THAT IT WOULD NOT ASK FOR FURTHER FUND ALLOCATIONS FOR THE NEW AIRPORT UNTIL THERE WERE SINO-BRITISH ACCORDS, IT WOULD THUS HAVE TO CONVINCE FC MEMBERS ON THE POSSIBILITY OF THE RESUMPTION OF TALKS ON THE NEW AIRPORT.

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