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China promises

press freedom

for Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen has said Hong Kong will still enjoy press freedom when the British colony returns to Chinese rule in 1997, local media reported on Saturday.

Newspapers, including pro-Beijing papers, said Qian told a delegation of Hong Kong newspaper trade union officials in Beijing on Friday that the government would not impose censorship on the news media.

But Qian said newspapers should have a social responsibility and promote patriotism. Qian also said he hoped newspapers could endorse Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule.

There is concern in Hong Kong that press freedom could be muzzled after its handover to China at midnight on June 30, 1997.-Reuter