SCMP A1 cover for 1997-03-10

In a report to be tabled on March 10, 1997, Chinese Vice-Premier Qian Qichen admitted that some people in Hong Kong still had doubts about the power of a Beijing-appointed Preparatory Committee to form the territory's interim law-making body following the June 30 handover to China. By quoting a 1990 resolution of the National People’s Congress, China's parliament, Qian claimed that setting up the provisional legislature was within the scope of power delegated to the Committee. Qian’s detailed account will be a major step in strengthening the legality of the body. He also said that apart from the NPC decision, the Preparatory Committee’s move in March 1996 to establish the body was based on the need for a legislature at the time of the handover, and as a temporary measure prior to the formation of the first Legislative Council. The front page also covers: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees comments on conditions in Vietnamese boat people camps in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong provisional legislature president calls for a Budget briefing, and a survey shows Hong Kong people think new migrants from China are ignorant, impolite, dirty and greedy.

A1 cover for the South China Morning Post