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group of Urban Councillors in late April.
They were told that after the signing of a Sino-British agreement on Hong Kong a committee would be set up to draft a Basic Law. The first draft would include existing Hong Kong laws and matters regulated in the agreement. It would be released in Hong Kong for public discussion in the light of which the drafting committee would make amendments and give Hong Kong people a second opportunity for discussion of the draft before its adoption by the central government. Ji subsequently told a Heung Yee Kuk delegation that local people were welcome to express opinions after the signing of an agreement. These would not change the agreement, but would be considered in drafting the Basic Law.
6. Xu Jiatun was less forthcoming to Chinese University Students' Union on 2 April. It did not rule out the possibility of a referendum on the draft of the Basic Law. He said NPC might set up a drafting committee comprising Hong Kong representatives who could be elected or appointed throught consultations. On 8 May in a speech to the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions he said that it was not the Chinese government's plan to set up such a Committee, but if local people wanted it then Peking would agree. Asked about UMELCO members participating he said any Hong Kong residents who supported reunification could take part.
DEMOCRACY
7. Chinese views on the question of democracy in Hong Kong can be divided into their ideas for the period before 1997 and after 1997. The URBCO delegation (above para 5) were told that China did not oppose democratisation before 1997, but while British officials administered the territory, it would be inappropriate for the Chinese government to intervene. While not opposing democracy in Hong Kong, the Chinese were worried that conditions for democracy were still lacking, and hoped that political education in schools would be increased. Ji Pengfei told them that the Hong Kong government should be responsible for democracy during the transition period. He expressed approval of British government wishes for more democracy but warned that the people of Hong Kong should observe the reaction of the Hong Kong government to their demands for democracy. He added that the people had freedom without democracy, and were justified in demanding it. (Earlier in the year in an interveiw with Newsweek published on 23 January, Li Chuwen had said that the demand for democracy by the people of Hong Kong was fully justified and should win the sympathy of all those with democratic aspirations including the Chinese; if Hong Kong preferred direct elections for its officials that would have Chinese support. On 15 January Xu Jiatun had described democracy for Hong Kong as a "definite trend", but it was up to the British government to decide whether it could be exercised in the transition period.)
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8. For the period after 1997 the Chinese have spoken of democracy mainly in the context of the selection of Hong Kong officials. theless Xu Jiatun told the Meeting Point group on 15 January in answer to a question whether Hong Kong could have democracy after reunification that there was "democracy in China's socialism" similarly in April he told representatives of the Chinese University
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