Registrar-General in his comments at p. 41 of the Report. In any case, the list of persons qualified to be so licensed would have to be quite a large one. Another possibility discussed was the licensing of certain premises for the purpose of marriages, such as the offices of Kaifong Associations, certain restaurants, etc., but it would seem that this would be even less likely to meet with the approval of the Registrar-General. In the event, discussion of these various suggestions produced no agreement, so that while Hu's proposals represented, in the eyes of the other members of the Sub-Committee, an ideal solution to a somewhat difficult problem, it was not one which the majority felt they could advance as a realistic recom- mendation.
"NEW RECOMMENDATION NO. 2: ON RETROSPECTIVE
RECOGNITION
Intention:
To remove any doubt about the validity in law of Chinese Modern Marriages contracted in Hong Kong prior to the Appointed Date. In cases where such a marriage may have terminated before the Appointed Date, its validity should be limited to the period during which it subsisted, so as not to render bigamous another marriage subsequently entered into by either or both of the parties believing themselves to be free.
Recommendation:
Legislation to be enacted whereby marriages contracted in Hong Kong elsewhere than in a licensed place of worship or a marriage registry and prior to a date to be appointed, shall be retrospectively recognized as valid if they were between two persons over the age of 16 and celebrated in a public place before at least two witnesses, provided that:
(1) at the time of such marriage neither spouse was lawfully married to anyone else;
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