SECRET
that an elected Governor should follow elections
to the Executive
and Legislative Councils, for fear of undermining the credibility of
their claim that they are prepared to let Hong Kong people run
reaction was such as to make the final step of
electing a Governor unworkable, at
at least HMG would be seen to have
tried and the onus for the situation would fall on the Chinese.
Hong Kong. If their
14.
a
We do not find this a persuasive argument. It would me an
confrontation with the Chinese, in which not merely the arrangements
up to 1997 would be disrupted but the structure of the post-1997
agreement could be jeopardised. The placing of the blame on
on the
Chinese would be of no long-term advantage to the people of
Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Department
22 June
1984
SECRET