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as you, and we, have recommended to him. He finds it difficult to conceive that it would not be possible to find three suitable people, preferably from the MACS, when the terms of membership of ten members of legCo expire next June. He is not convinced that the introduction of members representing wider social strata would be disruptive to good government in Hong Kong, particularly bearing in mind the fact that LegCo is advisory and not executive in character (I agree, more a constitutional nicety than a fact of experience). He believes that it would be difficult for him to defend the present situation on the grounds that the body needs to be socially cohesive if it is to function efficiently or that rapid promotion from, say, a MAC would be impossible. In his view, the aim should be to look for people with adequate potential, not necessarily people who are ready for full and effective participation in LegCo's activities now. He has, therefore, instructed me to sound out your views on how this change could be effected and what possible candidates could be found.
4.
He recognised that Hong Kong's record on adherence to ILO Conventions is a good one as compared with other Asian countries and was glad to note that a number of other Conventions might be extended to Hong Kong over the next year.
He remains sensitive, however, to possible criticism that there may be other ILO Conventions to which Hong Kong could be party and has approved the suggestion that the performance of Hong Kong in these respects should be reviewed by Lord Goronwy-Roberts every January so that he can assure the NEC that the Government is watching the situation closely.
5. Mr Callaghan also accepted that the possibility of a mini-Donovan which he had suggested to the NEC was not really a starter but he felt that further information was needed on the labour relations and trade union situation in Hong Kong from some well-qualified source. There did not, in his view, seem at present to be a body of informed knowledge on this subject in this country and he felt that the advice tendered to you by the Labour Advisory Board did not, on the evidence, adequately cover the spectrum of employer and employee opinion in the Colony witness the public reaction to the recent Labour Relations Bill. recognised the difficulty of making the Board properly representative, given the total non-cooperation of the communist trade unions representing nearly 85% of trades
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