TNAG-2770-FCO40-3987-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 83

UNCLASSIFIED

051122

MDHIAN 8484

WERE NOT IN CONTACT WITH VARIOUS POLITICAL PARTIES AND LOCAL ORGANISATIONS TO LOOK FOR CANDIDATES. THE PAPER ALSO LEARNT THAT 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, CPPCC 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 VISIT TO PEKING

8. THE PAPERS GAVE GOOD COVERAGE TO THE REMARKS MADE BY CHINESE OFFICIALS TO THE VISITING HEUNG YEE KUK DELEGATION ON 10 JULY. ON THE RECENT MINISTERIAL MEETING, QIAN QICHEN SAID THAT 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. QIAN WAS ALSO QUOTED AS SAYING THAT 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 THE CONTENTS AND THE SPIRIT OF THE MINI-CONSTITUTION. HKMAO VICE-DIRECTOR CHEN ZIYING SAID THAT 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.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

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THE EXPRESS NOTED THAT PREPARATORY WORKING COMMITTEE MEMBER RITA FAN AND LEGISLATOR PEGGY LAM HAD FORMED A WOMEN'S GROUP LAST MONTH, WHICH INCLUDED A NUMBER OF MEMBERS WITH PRO-CHINA BACKGROUND. THE PAPER QUOTED SOURCES AS SAYING THAT NCNA HAD HELPED PROMOTE THIS GROUP BEHIND THE SCENE WITH A VIEW TO TURNING IT INTO A WOMEN'S POLITICAL PARTY IN TIME FOR THE 1995 ELECTIONS.

POLL

10. MING PAO COMMISSIONED A POLL ON 1-5 JULY ON THE PERFORMANCE OF 8 POLITICAL PARTIES IN HK. THERE WERE 630 RESPONDENTS. THE PAPER FOUND THAT THE RATINGS OF THE LIBERAL PARTY AND THE DAB ON PROTECTING HK PEOPLE'S INTERESTS HAD STEADILY IMPROVED DURING THE PAST YEAR, WHILE THAT OF THE UDHK HAD DROPPED BY 0.05 POINT ALTHOUGH THEY CONTINUED TO RANK FIRST AMONG THE 8 PARTIES. OF THE POLL WERE AS FOLLOWS:

UDHK :

61.74 (OUT OF 100 POINTS)

61.50

RESULTS

ADPL :

LIBERAL PARTY

58.55

MEETING POINT :

58.14