TNAG-2770-FCO40-3987-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 79

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MDLIAN 4817

CRITICISMS ON THE LACK OF REPRESENTATIVENESS OFT HE PREPARATORY WORKING COMMITTEE, THE THIRD BATCH OF HK ADVISERS WOULD INCLUDE SOME LIBERALS ACCEPTABE TO THE CHINESE SIDE AND WELL-KNOWN PERSONALITIES WHO DID NOT BELONG TO THE PRO-CHINA CAMP. QUOTING CHINESE SOURCES, THE PAPER REPORTED APPOINTEES WOULD INCLUDE ANTHONY CHEUNG OF MEETING POINT AND FREDERICK FUNG OF ADPL. THE PAPER ALSO LEARNT THERE WAS DISSATISFACTION AMONGST MEMBERS OF THE PRO-CHINA CAMP WHO WERE NOT APPOINTED TO THE PREPARATORY WORKING COMMITTEE. TO PACIFY SUCH SENTIMENTS, ZHOU NAN MET WITH DELEGATES TO THE NPC, CPPC AND HK AFFAIRS ADVISERS ON 9 JULY ASSURING THEM THAT NON-MEMBERS COULD PARTICIPATE IN AD HOC GROUPS FORMED UNDER THE WORKING COMMITTEE.

HEUNG YEE KUK'S VISIT TO PEKING

29.

THE PAPERS GAVE GOOD COVERAGE (12.7) TO THE REMARKS MADE BY CHINESE OFFICIALS TO THE VISITING HEUNG YEE KUK DELEGATION. ON THE RECENT MINISTERIAL MEETING, QIAN QICHEN SAID THE CHINESE SIDE HAD ONLY URGED THE BRITISH SIDE TO ADHERE TO THE THREE CONFORMITIES BUT NO NEW CONDITIONS FOR THE TALKS HAD BEEN RAISED. MR QUIAN WAS ALSO QUOTED AS SAYING CHINA WAS DETERMINED AND CAPABLE OF ENSURING HK'S PROSPERITY AND A SMOOTH TRANSITION NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED. NPC/SC VICE-CHAIRMAN WANG HANBIN TOLD THE DELEGATION THAT UPHOLDING THE BL INCLUDED SUPPORTING ITS CONTENTS AND ITS SPIRIT. HKMAO VICE DIRECTOR CHEN ZIYING SAID THE PREPARATORY WORKING COMMITTEE WAS NOT EMPOWERED TO INTERPRET THE CRITERIA FOR THE THROUGH TRAIN WHICH SHOULD BE SPELT OUT BY THE NPC OR THE SAR PREPARATORY COMMITTEE.

'HK AND MACAU TODAY'

30. THE LATEST ISSUE OF HK AND MACAU TODAY' CONTAINED AN ARTICLE ON HK'S ECONOMIC PROSPECTS OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS BY WONG CHEUNG- YIU OF THE BANK OF CHINA'S HKMAO. HE SAID THERE WERE THREE POSSIBILITIES. FIRST, BRITAIN AND CHINA WOULD COOPERATE TO ENSURE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JD, BL AND A SMOOTH TRANSITION. SECOND, THE GOVERNOR WOULD INSIST ON HIS 'THREE VIOLATIONS' THEREBY ESCALATING SINO-BRITISH CONFRONTATION AND COMPELLING CHINA TO SET UP A NEW KITCHEN. THIS WOULD INEVITABLY AFFECT HK'S ECONOMY. THIRDLY, SOMEBODY WOULD TEAR UP THE JD COMPLETELY AND WRECK THE TERRITORY'S STABILITY AND PROSPERITY, LEAVING CHINA WITH A MESS BY 1997. MR WONG BELIEVED THE SECOND SITUATIOJN WAS LIKELY TO HAPPEN AND IF CHINA COULD MAINTAIN ITS ECONOMIC GROWTH, THERE WAS NO WORRY ABOUT A WORSENING OF THE CRISIS IN HK.

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