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(a)
a referendum with univeral franchise, possibly with some outside independent supervision;
(b) opinion polls, either Government sponsored or privately
arranged;
(c)
(d)
(e)
an independent commission of outside experts appointed to take soundings in Hong Kong (cf the Pearce Commission in Rhodesia).
an indirect process of opinion sounding, involving circulation of the agreement to existing institutions including EXCO,
LEGCO, District Boards, Advisory Committees, Kai Fong
associations etc, who would be asked for their views;
a more passive approach by which the proposals were published
as a Green or White Paper with an invitation to the public and representative organisations to debate them and make their
views know, to be followed by an assessment compiled by the
Hong Kong Government;
(f) a combination of (d) and (e).
THE CHINESE POSITION
4.
(a)
(b)
(0)
The Chinese position is that:
Hong Kong is and always has been part of China, that the
population is 98% Chinese and that only the Chinese Government
can represent the views of the people of Hong Kong;
it is not acceptable that the principle of the resumption of
sovereignty and right of administration should be subject to public consultation in Hong Kong. The Chinese maintain that the views of the 1 billion people in China must take precedence
over the views of 5 million Hong Kong Chinese on an issue of fundamental national policy;
they are prepared to consult the people of Hong Kong about the
details of the future administration, but they propose to
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