TNAG-2770-FCO40-3987-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 353

UNCLASSIFIED

140445

MDLIAN 20

UNCLASSIFIED

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 175

OF 051057Z FEBRUARY 93

INFO ROUTINE HKGO LONDON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG INFO ROUTINE HKGO WASHINGTON, HKGO NEW YORK, BIS NEW YORK INFO HKGO SAN FRANCISCO, UKMIS GENEVA, HKGO GENEVA

PART TWO OF TWO.

AIRPORT

12. REPORTS NOTED (30.1) IN RESPONSE TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE'S APPROVAL OF THE FUNDING APPLICATIONS FOR THREE AIRPORT CORE PROJECTS INCLUDING THE WEST KOWLOON EXPRESSWAY AND THE TRAFFIC MONITORING SYSTEM FOR ROUTE 3, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE CHINESE JLG OFFICE ISSUED A STATEMENT OBJECTING TO THE UNILATERAL ACTION TAKEN BY THE BRITISH PENDING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND BRITISH SIDES ON THE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE AIRPORT. IN RESPONSE, HKG ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING THE HKG WAS PROCEEDING WITH THE CORE PROJECTS IN LINE WITH ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE MOU TO COMPLETE AS MUCH OF THE PROGRAMME AS POSSIBLE BY 1997 IN A COST EFFECTIVE MANNER. THE HKG WAS READY TO HOLD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE CHINESE SIDE WITH A VIEW TO REACHING OVERALL AGREEMENT ON THE FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS AND ACCORDED PRIORITY TO THIS TASK. AT THE SAME TIME THE HKG WOULD STEP BY STEP MAINTAIN THE PROGRESS OF THE

WORK.

13. TA KUNG PAO NOTED AN ARTICLE IN THE ''HK AND MACAU TODAY'' MAGAZINE TRACING A SEQUENCE OF DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AIRPORT TALKS. THE ARTICLE CLAIMED THE BRITISH SIDE HAD SHOWN NO SINCERITY IN THE AIRPORT COMMITTEE MEETINGS IN THE LATTER HALF OF LAST YEAR AND THIS HAD RESULTED IN A DEADLOCK. IT SAID THE CHINESE SIDE HAD ALWAYS SUPPORTED HK TO BUILD AN AIRPORT IN A COST EFFECTIVE MANNER. THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT HAD NO PRIVATE INTERESTS IN THE MATTER AND WOULD NOT MAKE ANY POLITICAL DEAL WITH THE BRITISH SIDE.

14. REPORTS NOTED (3.2) A NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR GUANGZHOU WOULD BE BUILT. GUANGZHOU'S MAYOR LI ZHILIU WAS QUOTED AS SAYING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE THAT THE NEW GAUNGZHOU AIRPORT WOULD BE THE LARGEST IN SOUTHER CHINA, BUT IT WOULD NOT REPLACE THE HK AIRPORT. THE PROPOSAL HAD BEEN AGREED TO IN PRINCIPLE BY PEKING.

PAGE

1

UNCLASSIFIED