CONFIDENTIAL
RECORD OF A MEETING BETWEEN LORD GORONWY-ROBERTS AND MRS HUEN (DIRECTOR, FEDERATION OF HONG KONG INDUSTRIES) AT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE ON THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY AT 12.00 NOON
Present:
Lord Gorowny-Roberts
Mr AC Galsworthy
Mrs Huen
Mr B H Dinwiddy
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1. Mrs Huen said that many among her generation of Chinese in Hong Kong were concerned about the future of the Colony and in particular about what would happen in 1997 (which was ceasing to be merely "a very long way ahead"). Many Chinese community leaders felt that there was insufficient scope to influence Hong Kong Government policy and they thought that the composition and functions of the Executive and Legislative Councils could be improved. In particular, the Legislative Council contained no-one who could claim to represent the great mass of Hong Kong's working population.
2. Lord Gorowny-Roberts said that he had much sympathy for Mrs Huen's ideas on expanding the representation on the Legislative Council. However the prospective reaction in Peking to any structural change had to be taken into account. Rapid reform might be counter-productive; but there had recently been significant progress in the expansion of the Mutual Aid Committees and in the increased status and responsibilities of the (partially elected) Urban Council. He and the Governor were constantly investigating ways and means of expanding the reservoir from which appointees to LegCo could be drawn. He agreed that it was important that the mass of Hong Kong's population should be given an increased sense of participation in Government, and that people should be aware, socially as well as politically, that progress was being made. agreed that 1997 was comparatively close. It was at least possible that, even then, the Chinese Government would not wish to see any change in the status quo. Asked by Mrs Huen whether it would be appropriate to start to strengthen the unofficial links which already existed between people like herself in Hong Kong and China, Lord Gorowny-Roberts replied that there was already a large measure of rapport. The important question was how fast and in what manner this should be developed.
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3. Mrs Huen further suggested that promotion of senior Chinese officers within the Hong Kong Civil Service should be accelerated. In particular she thought that opportunities had been missed to appoint local Chinese to the posts of Commissioner for Labour and Director of Home Affairs. Moreover, those senior Chinese who served as Unofficials on the Executive and Legislative Council were overburdened with committee work which should be more widely spread.
/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
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