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Talks a ploy to bide time

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THE Sino-British talks have become no more than a public relations exercise, those who are close to them say.

While Hong Kong public opinion supports continuing negotiations, both sides are prepared to keep the audience entertained with their shadow puppetry theatre.

Behind Chinese walls, the charade is being read as a game of political brinkmanship, buying time to win the hearts and minds of the Hong Kong people.

If past form is anything to go by, when both sides sit down to the 13th round of Sino-British talks tomorrow, the first hour will be taken up agreeing on a joint statement at the end of the session.

Each side will exchange pleasantries and retire to while away the hours before lunch. If they were to emerge too soon, it would be immediately read that the talks had broken down.

Nonetheless, the market has been swept off its feet. Champagne corks popped as United States institutional funds flooded into Hong Kong, spilling over into other centres of the region.

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