TNAG-2779-FCO40-3998-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-Chinese-reac-1993 — Page 75

UNCLASSIFIED

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 794

OF 190745Z MAY 93

UNCLASSIFIED

HICCONN. RECEIVED IT.

1 MAY 1993

DESK C

INDEX

гA

on i

HONG KONG

INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP

127

071035

MDLIAN 3962

TOP COPY

Q DIST?

NE

012/2

CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: PRESS REPORTS.

THIRD ROUND OF TALKS.

1.

MEDIA INTEREST IN THE COMING THIRD ROUND OF TALKS HAS BEGUN TO INTENSIFY. ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS TODAY (19 MAY) QUOTED CHINESE AND BRITISH SOURCES AS SAYING THAT THEY DID NOT EXPECT THE TALKS COULD BE COMPLETED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. CHINESE SOURCES SAID THEY STILL HAD RESERVATIONS ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF THE BRITISH SIDE AND WERE THEREFORE JUST CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE PROSPECTS OF THE TALKS. THE REPORT UNDERSTOOD THAT HKG WERE MAINTAINING THAT THE ELECTORAL BILL COULD NOT BE TABLED IN PARTS, BUT THE CHINESE SIDE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS TECHNICALLY FEASIBLE TO PUT THE

BILL TO LEGCO IN TWO PARTS.

2. HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL QUOTED SOURCES PURPORTEDLY FROM EXCO AS SAYING THE THIRD ROUND OF TALKS WOULD TOUCH ON TWO MAJOR ISSUES. ONE WAS THE QUESTION OF THE THROUGH TRAIN IN 1997 WHILE THE OTHER WAS WHETHER THE CHINESE SIDE WERE WILLING TO MAKE SPECIFIC PROPOSALS ON THE 1995 ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS. THE SOURCES SAID BOTH SIDES HAD IN THE FIRST TWO ROUNDS EXCHANGED VIEWS ONLY ON MATTERS OF PRINCIPLE RELATING TO THE BASIS FOR THE TALKS. THE SOURCES SAID THE PRESENT DIFFICULTIES WERE THAT THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD NOT TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RAISE ELECTORAL ARRANGEMENTS THAT WERE DIFFERENT FROM THE GOVERNOR'S PACKAGE WHILE THE CHINESE SIDE HAD REFUSED TO PUT FORWARD SPECIFIC

PROPOSALS.

3. SING TAO DAILY NOTED HKG SOURCES AS SAYING THAT WHILE THE BRITISH SIDE HOPED THAT CONCRETE RESULTS WOULD BE ACHIEVED IN THE THIRD ROUND, IT WAS NOT EXPECTED TO BE THE LAST ROUND OF NEGOTIATIONS.

4 =

AN ARTICLE IN THE MAY ISSUE OF TREND MAGAZINE QUOTED CHINESE SOURCES AS SAYING THAT THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD CONTINUE TO INSIST ON THE THREE COMPLIANCES AND THE THREE PRINCIPLES' IN THE THIRD

1

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