TNAG-2771-FCO40-3988-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 16

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127114

MDLIAN 4176

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FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 1834

OF 031055Z DECEMBER 1993

INFO ROUTINE HKGO LONDON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

INFO ROUTINE HKGO WASHINGTON, HKGO NEW YORK,

INFO HKGO SAN FRANCISCO, HKGO GENEVA

PART TWO OF TWO

HONG KONG FUTURE: PRESS COVERAGE: (27.11 -3.12)

17. Wang Guisheng of the Chinese Foreign Ministry was quoted (30.11) as saying Li Peng had given an initial response to the Prime Minister in which Li indicated the Chinese Government was willing to speed up the talks on the basis of the 'three confirmities. However, Wang did not indicate what form Li's response took and when it was issued. The papers noted the Prime Minister's office had not received such a letter.

18.

An article in the coming issue of the Bauhinia magazine said (1.12) if the British side unilaterally tabled the Governor's package or its amended version in LegCo it would mean the talks would break down. The British side would be held responsible for all consequences. The article added it was no big deal and under the circumstances, the 1994/95 elections would be conducted by the British side and would come to an end in June 1997. The Chinese side would then form new DBs, municipal councils and LegCo in accordance with the BL.

19.

Sing Tao Daily (2.12) reported from Peking that senior Chinese officials responsible for HK matters attended an emergency meeting chaired by Foreign Minister Qian Qichen to discuss measures to deal with Britain's 'unilateral' action. Those present included Zhou Nan, Lu Ping and Jiang Enzhu. Ming Pao quoted a Chinese source as saying Chinese President Jiang Zemin would chair a high-level meeting to assess the situation of the talks and decide on strategies. The meeting would be attended by Li Peng and Qian Qichen. The paper quoted a Chinese official in Peking as saying the Chinese side would try its best to reach an agreement. He said even if a Bill was gazetted, the Chinese side would, through diplomatic contacts, seek to make the British side change its mind

The official said the on tabling it so that talks could resume.

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