SECRET
replacement but he was firmly of the view that any changes made by the Governor on the eve of departure would be taken locally by those
concerned as an intolerable insult.
6. The arrangement proposed by the Governor will give the new Governor a period of at least six months in office in which to familiarise himself with the local scene, personalities and problems before making his recommendations for nominations to the two Councils. If the new Governor comes from outside Hong Kong, it will be most important for him to have such a period of familiarisation;
and if
he comes from inside the Colony, no harm will be done by the short
delay involved.
7. The proposed arrangement also has the advantage that by the spring of next year it should be possible for the new Governor to consider nominations to the two Councils in the light of developments
in the field of local government. Further thought could be given to the possibility of nominating elected members of the Urban Council and the question of dispensing with the two "closed seats" for representatives of the Justices of the Peace and the Chamber of Commerce could also be reconsidered.
Official Members
8. Official members are nominated annually and their nomination
presents no difficulty. It will, however, be necessary in due course to nominate a replacement for the Director of Medical Services (Dr. P. H. Teng), the sole nominated official member of the Executive Council, who is due to retire shortly.
9. Apart from the four ex officio members of both Councils (the Colonial Secretary, Attorney-General, Secretary for Home Affairs and Financial Secretary), the eight nominated official members of the Legislative Council represent the eight most important Government departments and there are no reasons to vary these appointments at this stage.
Recommendation
10.
I recommend acceptance of the Governor's proposals in paragraph
4 above. A draft letter to the Governor is attached.
байса
(E.`0. Laird)
Hong Kong Department
23 April, 1970