TNAG-2990-FCO40-3574-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-talks-betwee-1992 — Page 208

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122357 MDHIAN 2626 77

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FM HONG KONG

TO DESKBY 09093OZ FCO

TELNO 2474

OF 090825Z OCTOBER 92

INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

&

LEGCO ADDRESS: CHINESE REACTION.

1.

THE REMARKS OF THE CHINESE MFA SPOKESMAN ON MY ADDRESS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN PEKING TELNO 131. THEY ARE CARRIED IN ALL PAPERS ON 9 OCTOBER.

2.

REMARKS OF THE HKMAO SECOND DEPARTMENT HEAD, WANG FENGCHAO, HAVE ALSO BEEN PROMINENTLY REPORTED BY MOST PAPERS. WANG SAID THAT THE SAR GOVERNMENT WOULD REVERSE ANY MAJOR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES THAT WERE NOT IN LINE WITH THE BASIC LAW AND THE JD. HE ACCUSED ME OF NOT HEEDING CHINESE ADVICE ON DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT WHEN DRAFTING MY POLICY SPEECH AND OF VIOLATING THE PROVISION IN THE JD FOR CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES IN THE TRANSITION. HE EMPHASISED THAT CHINA WOULD NOT BE HELD

RESPONSIBLE IF CHAOS AND NON-CONVERGENCE TOOK PLACE IN HONG KONG BECAUSE OF MY PROPOSALS.

3. A NUMBER OF FORMER BLDC AND BLCC MEMBERS, IN A SEMINAR ORGANISED BY WEN WEI PAO (WWP) YESTERDAY, CLAIMED THAT MY PROPOSALS FOR POLITICAL CHANGES WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE PROSPERITY AND PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF HONG KONG.

4.

WWP ACCUSED ME OF MISLEADING HONG KONG PEOPLE INTO BELIEVING THAT MY PROPOSALS WERE WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE BASIC LAW. IT SAID THAT MY DRASTIC PROPOSALS WOULD NOT ONLY CONTRAVENE THE BASIC LAW, BUT ALSO THE THREE NPC RESOLUTIONS CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAR, THE SETTING UP OF A BASIC LAW COMMITTEE AND THE PROCEDURES FOR RETURNING THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE SAR. THERE WOULD BE NON-CONVERGENCE IF BRITAIN FAILED TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE CHINESE ON THE 1995 ELECTIONS.

5. TA KUNG PAO (TKP) COMMENTED THAT I HAD SOUGHT TO BET ON HONG KONG'S WELL BEING BY UNILATERALLY ANNOUNCING THE CHANGES WITHOUT CONSULTING THE CHINESE. IT CLAIMED THAT THERE WAS NO OPINION POLL WHICH SUBSTANTIATED THE URGENT NEED FOR MY SWEEPING REFORMS. RATHER ALL OPINION POLLS HAD SHOWED THAT HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE

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