SECRET
Advantages
(a)
There would be provision for continuity from an elected
Governor to an elected Chief Executive.
(b) HMG would retain specific reserved powers. They would aim not to employ these except in an emergency when they might have to
exercise them directly. In emergencies affecting internal or
external security this might involve sending instructions to
the Commander British Forces. In a "political" emergency (for
example in circumstances where a locally elected Governor sought to pursue policies inconsistent with the Sino-British
agreement), it might be necessary for HMG to remove him from
office.
(c) The Chinese might accept the arrangement of an elected Governor
in return for our acceptance of a joint group.
(d) The presence of the joint group in the territory would
demonstrate HMG's continuing involvement and provide a channel
for Sino-British communication on the ground in the event of
unrest. In both ways it could help defuse any movement towards
disorder.
Disadvantages
(i) The establishment of a joint group could hit confidence in Hong
Kong.
(ii) The Chinese would aim to exploit the joint group in order to
interfere in Hong Kong before 1997.
(iii) Our explicit retention of reserve powers might be held to
encourage the Central People's Government to assume the same
powers after 1997 but already these would either be explicit in
the agreement (defence and foreign affairs) or implicit in the
provision that the Chief Executive of Hong Kong would be
appointed by the President of the PRC.
(iv) If the existence of the joint group was not enough to
discourage disorder there would be obvious difficulties in exercising our reserve powers at long range.
ARGUMENT
9.
There are obvious problems in going for either of the extremes
of an appointed British Governor on the present basis (Option A) or
of an elected, Governor to take over from him with no reassurance to the Chinese but we could keep effective control in Hong Kong. the same time the incentive for us to set up a system with some kind
Hak
At
SECRET
/of