TNAG-2771-FCO40-3988-Coverage-of-Sino-British-talks-in-the-Hong-Kong-press-1993 — Page 83

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

PART ONE OF TWO

HONG KONG FUTURE: PRESS COVERAGE: (28.8-4.9)

SUMMARY

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SPECULATION CONTINUED ON THE PROGRESS/CONTENT OF THE TALKS IN THE RUN-UP TO THE 10TH ROUND. ALSO PROMINENTLY COVERED WERE THE JLG EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON DEFENCE LAND IN HK AND SUB-GROUP MEETINGS OF THE PWC IN PEKING. CHINESE OFFICIALS' ASSERTIONS THAT THE TREATMENT OF HAN DONGFANG HAD NO IMPLICATIONS FOR FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OF HK RESIDENTS AFTER 1997, AND CRITICISMS OF HKG FOR EXPRESSING HK'S CONCERN ABOUT THIS, WERE ALSO WIDELY COVERED.

TALKS

2. DIRECTOR OF NCNA HK BRANCH, ZHOU NAN WAS QUOTED AS SAYING IN PEKING (31.8), THAT THE CHINESE SIDE HAD ALWAYS HOPED PROGRESS COULD BE MADE IN THE TALKS: A BREAKTHROUGH, HOWEVER, WOULD REQUIRE EFFORTS FROM BOTH SIDES.

UMBER

3. A NUMBER OF PAPERS QUOTED A TV REPORT WHICH QUOTED BRITISH SOURCES AS SAYING (31.8) THE GOVERNOR AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAD FORMULATED THE STRATEGY FOR THE 10TH ROUND OF TALKS. THE SOURCES SAID THE BRITISH SIDE ESTIMATED THE TALKS WOULD NOT HAVE COMPLETED BY THE TIME THE GOVERNOR DELIVERED HIS POLICY ADDRESS. THE GOVERNOR WOULD GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS OF THE TALKS, BUT WOULD NOT TABLE THE REFORM BILL IN LEGCO IN FULL OR IN PART. THERE WAS A GAP BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES OVER ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS AND THE BRITISH SIDE WERE AWAITING RESPONSE FROM THE CHINESE SIDE ON SOME OF THEIR PROPOSALS.

4.

THE HK ECONOMIC JOURNAL QUOTED SOURCES (31.8) CLOSE TO THE BRITISH SIDE AS SAYING IF THE CHINESE SIDE RESPONDED TO THE COUNTER-PROPOSALS RAISED IN THE LAST ROUND AND PROPOSED OBJECTIVE

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