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WAS IN LINE WITH THE BL THERE WAS NO NEED TO SET UP 'ANOTHER KITCHEN' IN 1997. ON THE PRELIMINARY WORK ORGAN FOR THE SAR PREPARATORY COMMITTEE, MR LU SAID IT WOULD INVOLVE IN WORK CONCERNING THE FUTURE SAR AND LEGISLATURE AFTER 1997 AND NOT BEFORE 1997 AND IT WOULD NOT BE A SECOND POWER CENTRE. MR LU SAID THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE CHINESE SIDE IN THE TALKS WERE THE 'THREE PRINCIPLES'. IF BOTH SIDES COULD REACH AN AGREEMENT, MR LU WAS QUOTED AS SAYING IT WAS NOT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE HANG SENG INDEX TO RISE BEYOND 8000 POINTS.
BAN ON PRESS COVERAGE
15. A SPOKESMAN FOR THE NCNA HK BRANCH (15.4) SAID THAT THEY WERE ACTING ON THE DECISION OF THE HKMAO STATE COUNCIL IN REJECTING APPLICATIONS FROM THE PRESS TO COVER THE TALKS. THE BAN HAD DRAWN OVERWHELMINGLY NEGATIVE REACTION. LEGCO MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL GROUPS AND PRESS COMMENTATORS URGED THAT THE BAN BE LIFTED TO INCREASE THE TRANSPARENCY OF THE TALKS. DAB'S TSANG YOK-SING AND CHEN KAI-NAM SAID THEY WOULD CLARIFY WITH NCNA. NPC DEPUTY NG HON-MAN SAID HE SUPPORTED OPEN PRESS COVERAGE. THE PAPERS NOTED (16.4) THE BRITISH EMBASSY IN PEKING HAD ASKED THE CHINESE SIDE TO CLARIFY THE MATTER. NCNA VICE DIRECTOR ZHENG GUOXIONG SAID THE CONTENTS OF THE TALKS WOULD BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL AND THERE WOULD BE NO STATEMENT TO BE PUBLISHED. NO ARRANGEMENTS HAD THEREFORE BEEN MADE FOR PRESS COVERAGE. BOTH MR ZHENG AND ZHANG JUNSHENG OF NCNA SAID THEY WOULD REFLECT TO THE CHINESE AUTHORITIES LOCAL VIEWS ON THE ISSUE.
16. PAPERS WIDELY NOTED (18.4) THE CHINESE SIDE HAD AGREED TO LIFT THE BAN. A PHOTO-CALL WOULD BE ARRANGED FOR THE MEDIA BEFORE THE TALKS. NCNA VICE DIRECTOR ZHANG JUNSHENG DENIED THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WAS BOWING TO PRESSURE. HE SAID THE REQUEST FROM THE MEDIA WAS ACCEPTED BECAUSE THEY WERE REASONABLE.
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