PROSPERITY. THAT WAS OUR AIM. ANY DILUTION OR LIMITATION IN THE SCOPE OF HKG'S RESPONSIBILITY OR THAT OF HMG FOR HONG KONG COULD
AVE A VERY DAMAGING EFFECT, WHETHER BASED ON FACT OR PERCEPTION. SOME OF KE'S REMARKS IMPLIED WHAT WOULD AMOUNT TO A VETO OVER PO-1997 DEVELOPMENTS IN HONG KONG.
(B) CHANGES TO THE STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT.
(1) THE RECENT CHANGES RESULTED SOLELY FROM THE 1984 WHITE PAPER. THE LEGCO POWERS AND PRIVILEGES BILL DID NTO ENLARGE LEGCO'S RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS.
(11) DEVELOPMENT WAS A CONTINUOS PROCESS. A LIVE POLITICAL SOCIETY COULD NOT SIMPLY BE PUT INTO DEEP-FREEZE. WE WISHED TO ENSURE CONVERGENCE BETWEEN PRE-1997 DEVELOPMENTS AND CHINESE IDEAS FOR THE BASIC LAW. THERE WAS NO QUESTION OF TRYING TO CREATE A STRUCTURE AT ODDS WITH THAT TO BE STIPULATED IN THE BASIC LAW AND
WHICH COULD NOT THEREFORE ENDURE BEYOND 1997. BOTH SIDES SEEMED TO SHARE THIS VIEW.
(C) HOW TO PROCEED. I NOTED AND WELCOMED THE FACT THAT THE CHINESE HAD NO WISH TO INTERFERE OR BE SEEN TO INTERFERE IN HONG KONG'S ADMINISTRATION. KE HAD NOTED MY REMARKS ABOUT THE SENSITIVITY OF THIS ISSUE. THE CHINESE MUST ACCEPT THAT MUCH SUSPICION STILL REMAINED IN HONG KONG ABOUT THE JLG. KE HAD SPOK N OF KEEPING JLG DISCUSSIONS ENTIRELY CONFIDENTIAL: WE MUST ACCEPT THAT LEAKS WOULD OCCUR. EQUALLY SERIOUSLY, IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR PEOPLE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GENUIN LEAKS AND PRESS SPECULATION. BECAUSE OF THE CURRENT PRESS INTEREST IT WOULD BE IMPLAUSIBLE NOT TO REFER IN THE COMMUNIQUE TO BE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE MEETING TO DISCUSSION OF THIS ISSUE. IT WOULD IMPORTANT TO REFER TO IT IN THE RIGHT WAY TO AVOID ANY SUGGESTION OF JLG INTERFERENCE OR PREJUDICING CONFIDENCE IN HONG KONG.
(D) PUBLIC STATEMENTS. MY IMPRESSION WAS THAT THE REPORTS OF REMARKS BY HONG KONG OFFICIALS TO WHICH HE REFERRED TO WERE OFF-THE-CUFF COMMENTS OR REFLECTED BAD REPORTING OF A SPEECH. THEY DID NOT REPRESENT OFFICIAL POLICY STATEMENTS. THE GOVERNOR'S OPENING SPEECH TO THE NEW LEGCO HAD FOR EXAMPLE BEEN VERY CAUTIOUS ON THIS ISSUE. I REFERRED TO XU JIATUN'S 21 OCTOBER PRESS CONFERENCE IN THIS CONTEXT AND SAID THAT WE HAD BEEN SURPRISED BY HIS COMMENTS ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT DECLARATION AND CONCERNED AT THEIR EFFECT ON HONG KONG OPINION. HIS REMARKS WOULD BE SEEN TO BE A FROMAL STATEMENT BY A SENIOR CHINESE OFFICIAL. I THEN POINTED TO THE LINK BETWEEN HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY AND MARKET CONFIDENCE ON THE ONE HAND AND THE SENSITIVITY OF MARKETS TO
TUAHANTA
AS
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