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{ 4 MAY 1993
on le
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FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 678
OF 031018Z MAY 93
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
INFO PRIORITY UKREP JLG HONG KONG
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT : PRESS REPORTS
ZHANG JUNSHENG
1.
NCNA VICE DIRECTOR ZHANG JUNSHENG WAS TODAY WIDELY QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE GOVERNOR SHOULD NOT RAISE THE QUESTION OF HONG KONG IN THE U S, ADDING THAT HE WAS PUZZLED BY THE GOVERNOR'S MOVE.
*
HE REITERATED THAT THE HONG KONG QUESTION WAS A MATTER FOR CHINA AND BRITAIN. HE ALSO SAID THAT CHINA'S MEN STATUS WAS A MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL TRADE RELATION BETWEEN THE US AND CHINA, AND
NOT A FAVOUR GRANTED BY ANYONE.
2.
ZHANG WAS ALSO QUOTED BY YESTERDAY'S PAPERS AS SAYING THAT THE CHINESE SIDE HOPED THAT ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE 1994/95 ELECTIONS COULD BE SORTED OUT AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE. BUT WHETHER ISSUES COULD BE RESOLVED QUICKLY IN THE TALKS WAS NOT A MATTER THAT COULD BE UNILATERALLY DECIDED BY THE CHINESE SIDE. ACCORDING TO PRESS REPORTS, ZHANG DECLINED TO REPLY TO QUESTIONS ON THE PROGRESS OF THE TALKS.
NCNA COMMENTARY
3. THE PAPERS YESTERDAY NOTED THAT IN A REPORT ON CHINA'S RECENT DIPLOMATIC WORK, NCNA SAID THAT THE RE-OPENING OF TALKS BETWEEN THE CHINESE AND BRITISH SIDES HAD BROUGHT HOPE TO RESOLVING THE QUESTION OF HONG KONG'S POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT, THOUGH THE PATH WOULD BE A VERY THORNY ONE. NCNA ALSO STRESSED THAT NEGOTIATIONS WERE BETTER THAN CONFRONTATION.
BAUHINIA MAGAZINE
A COMMENTARY IN THE MAY ISSUE OF BAUHINIA MAGAZINE NOTED THAT THE KEY TO BREAKING THE DEADLOCK OVER THE NEW AIRPORT QUESTION WAS FOR THE BRITISH SIDE TO CHANGE ITS COURSE AND TO RETURN TO THE PATH OF THE MOU. THE ARTICLE CLAIMED THAT WE HAD TREATED THE MOU AS MERELY A PIECE OF BLANK PAPER AND HAD INSISTED ON A HIGH-COST AND LOW-RETURN FINANCIAL PACKAGE WITH NO CAP ON THE COSTS. THE CHINESE POSITION ON THE AIRPORT HAD BEEN CONSISTENT: THEY WOULD
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