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VIEWS ON CPPCC DELEGATES:
There was considerable comment on the appointment of HK and Macau delegates to the CPPCC, notably from the HK Economic Journal.
On the increase in the number of HK and Macau delegates to the CPPCC, the Journal, in a leader on 11 May, hoped that the delegates would speak up for HK's interests. It was their responsibility to tell Chinese leaders what made HK tick. Their appointments indicated that they had been politically accepted by China, but it remained to be seen whether they would be respected by HK people.
The following day, the paper said more than 10 community leaders in HK had declined offers to become CPPCC members for personal reasons. The paper lamented that two former Legco members had accepted the CPPCC appointments for the sake of fame and fortune. Should more people choose to do this, it would not be surprising to find existing Legco and Exco members resigning in order to join the CPPCC. These people's attitude was that they would rather sail in a seaworthy small boat which was in fact unsafe than in a sinking ocean-liner. The paper was puzzled as to how people who had pledged their allegiance to the Queen could serve another government and political party without first renouncing their allegiance to the Queen. It also noted that more people were now resigned to China's self-rule formula. Should this continue, the HK Government would soon find it impossible to effectively implement its policies.
In another editorial on 13 May, the paper suggested the Government should introduce legislation requiring that serving councillors in HK who had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen could not accept appointments offered by another government. The paper noted that the Queen's Birthday Honours would be announced soon and it would be interesting to see if any of the recipients were CPPCC members.
The paper urged the Government to adopt measures to stabilise people's confidence. One way of doing this was to maintain the independence of the administration and the government to work for the better prospects of HK. No long-term public works projects should be abandoned. The Government should also instruct its London Office and send
local community leaders to lobby the British Government to do something to rectify the damage caused by the Nationality Act. For instance, they could ask Commonwealth countries to relax immigration rules or open up some of the offshore islands of Britain for investment by people in dependent territories.
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The Express also criticised HK delegates who had accepted the CPPCC appointments. In a leader, the paper said these people were eager to get into a crowded bus and to pursue fame with the hope that it would give them political power in HK. They had too high an opinion of themselves and the so-called democracy of the Chinese communists.
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