TNAG-2770-FCO40-3987-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 49

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MDHIAN 9326.

SIX MORE ROUNDS OF TALKS BEFORE THEY KNEW WHETHER AN AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED. THE PAPER SAID THAT BOTH SIDES WOULD STRIVE TO RESOLVE THE 'THROUGH TRAIN'' QUESTION FIRST. HOWEVER,

HOWEVER, AGREEMENT ON THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES AND THE ELECTION COMMITTEE MIGHT NOT BE POSSIBLE AS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES WERE TOO WIDE. REFERRING TO DIPLOMATIC SOURCES IN PEKING, THE PAPER SAID THAT THE NINTH ROUND OF TALKS WOULD LIKELY BE HELD AFTER MID-AUGUST. THEREAFTER THE TALKS WOULD BE HELD ON A WEEKLY BASIS SO THAT AN AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED IN OCTOBER. QUOTING SOURCES CLOSE TO EXCO, THE PAPER REPORTED THAT EXCO HAD ALREADY FORMULATED DIRECTIONS AND BOTTOM LINES FOR THE SINO-BRITISH TALKS AND THEREFORE WAS LIKELY TO TAKE A RECESS OF THREE WEEKS AS SCHEDULED. AN EXCO MEETING MIGHT BE HELD ON 17 AUGUST SHOULD THERE BE A BREAKTHROUGH IN THE TALKS.

4.

SING TAO DAILY UNDERSTOOD THAT WIDE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES STILL REMAINED OVER THE WAY LEGCO MEMBERS SHOULD BE RETURNED

BY THE NEW FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES AND THE ELECTION COMMITTEE. FOR THE NINE NEW FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES, THE BRITISH SIDE COULD ACCEPT THE EXISTING CLASSIFICATION BY PROFESSIONAL GROUPS WHILE THE CHINESE SIDE OPTED FOR A ONE ASSOCIATION, ONE VOTE'' SYSTEM. ON THE ELECTION COMMITTEE, THE BRITISH SIDE BASICALLY AGREED THAT IT SHOULD BE FORMED IN ACCORDANCE WITH BL STIPULATIONS BUT COULD NOT AGREE TO ADOPT ''DEMOCRATIC CONSULTATION'', AS PROPOSED BY THE CHINESE SIDE, IN RETURNING MEMBERS FOR THE CATEGORY COMPRISING FORMER POLITICAL FIGURES AND LOCAL DELEGATES TO NPC AND CPPCC. REGARDS THE QUESTION OF THE ''THROUGH TRAIN'', THE BRITISH SIDE BELIEVED THAT THE SETTING OF OBJECTIVE CRITERIA SHOULD BE THE WORK

OF THE NPC STANDING COMMITTEE. THE SARPC WOULD ONLY BE RESPONSIBLE

FOR TICKET INSPECTION''. THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD THEREFORE INSIST

THAT THE NPC STANDING COMMITTEE LAY DOWN THE OBJECTIVE CRITERIA FOR

THE ''THROUGH TRAIN'' NOW.

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PRELIMINARY WORKING COMMITTEE (PWC)

AS

5. THE PRESS CONFERENCE BY HKMAO DIRECTOR AND SARPC PWC SECRETARY-

GENERAL LU PING AT THE CLOSING OF THE FIRST FULL MEETING OF THE PWC

ON SATURDAY WAS COVERED EXTENSIVELY BY THE PAPERS ON SUNDAY. REPORTS QUOTED LU AS SAYING THAT THE PWC WOULD SET UP A LIAISON OFFICE IN HK, THAT THE PWC WOULD NOT INFRINGE ON THE WORK OF THE JLG AND THAT IT WAS NOT ANOTHER ''STOVE''. ON THE QUESTION OF THE OBJECTIVE CRITERIA FOR THE THROUGH TRAIN, LU WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THEY WOULD BE DECIDED BY THE SARPC IN 1996. SEVERAL PAPERS ALSO NOTED THAT THE PEOPLE'S DAILY ON 17 JULY SAID THAT THE PWC WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE SMOOTH TRANSITION OF HK.

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