TNAG-2990-FCO40-3574-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-talks-betwee-1992 — Page 87

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UNCLASSIFIED

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 2550

OF 23084OZ OCTOBER 92

INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

pwR Clune

angle

165317 MDLIAN 0373

LEGCO ADDRESS: CHINESE REACTION, 23 OCTOBER.

1. MOST PAPERS TODAY PLAYED UP THE REMARKS BY CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN QICHEN ON MY POLICY ADDRESS. QIAN HIT OUT AT MY POLICY ADDRESS, ACCUSING IT OF CHALLENGING SINO-BRITISH CO-OPERATION AND OF GOING AGAINST PROMISES OF THE BRITISH SIDE FOR CONVERGENCE. QIAN ALLEGED THAT MY CONSTITUTIONAL PROPOSALS WERE A VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS AND SPIRIT OF THE JD, AND WERE NEITHER IN LINE WITH THE PROMISE FOR CONVERGENCE BY THE BRITISH SIDE NOR WITH THE SINO-BRITISH UNDERSTANDING IN THIS AREA.

2. IN ANOTHER FORUM THE CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN WU JIANMIN EXPLAINED THAT PREMIER LI PENG DID NOT SEE ME BECAUSE CHINA FELT THAT MY SPEEDING UP OF DEMOCRACY IN HK HAD VIOLATED BRITAIN'S COMMITMENTS ON CONVERGENCE. HE URGED ME TO ACT STRICTLY IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SINO-BRITISH JD AND REFRAIN FROM VIOLATING OUR OWN COMMITMENT.

3. THE EXPRESS REPORTED THAT LU PING WOULD MAKE A STATEMENT AS SOON AS I HAD LEFT PEKING.

4. WEN WEI PO QUOTED SOME BL DRAFTERS AS SAYING THAT A FORMULA ON FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES SIMILAR TO MY PROPOSALS HAD BEEN DISCUSSED AND REJECTED AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION BY THE BLDC AND THAT THERE WAS NO PRESCRIPTION OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE 1995 ELECTION COMMITTEE IN THE BL BECAUSE OF THE SINO-BRITISH UNDERSTANDING ON 'THROUGH TRAIN''.

FORD

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