3
NO PART IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF HONG KONG
NOR SHALL IT HAVE
ANY SUPERVISORY ROLE OVER THAT ADMINISTRATION''. THERE WAS ALREADY
CONCERN ABOUT CHINESE 'INTERFERENCE': TO ALLOW THEM A FORMAL
STANDING AT THIS EARLY STAGE IN RELATION TO CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT WOULD AROUSE ALL THE OLD FEARS ABOUT CONDOMINIUM** THE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES THIS WOULD HAVE ON CONFIDENCE COULD NOT
BE OVER 'EMPHASISED:
·
(C) DISCUSSION IN THE JLG ON A SMOOTH TRANSITION IN 1997 WOULD BE APPROPRIATE AT A LATER STAGE. BUT NOW WAS TOO EARLY SINCE NEITHER SIDE WAS YET CLEAR WHAT IT WANTED. POSSIBLY THE BEST TIME FOR MORE
FORMAL EXCHANGES WAS 1987 BY WHICH TIME OUR IDEAS, AND THE CHINESE
ONES ON THE DRAFT BASIC LAW WOULD HAVE TAKEN CLEARER SHAPE.
5. MEANWHILE WE SHOULD SEEK TO DEVELOP (NEXT WORD UNDERLINED)
INFORMAL CHANNELS, PARTICULARLY IN HONG KONG, THROUGH WHICH IDEAS
COULD BE ECHANGED. A VARIETY OF CHANNELS COULD BE USED, PARTICULARLY
MEMBERS OF EXCO OR LEGCO WHO EITHER WERE MEMBERS OF THE BLDC/BLCC OR
HAD OTHERWISE ESTABLISHED GOOD RAPPORT WITH THE LOCAL NCNA.
6. MEMBERS THOUGHT THAT THE RISK OF THE CHINESE WITHHOLDING POSITIVE
DECISIONS ON OTHER SUBJECTS UNDER DISCUSSION IN THE JLG (PARA 3
OF YOUR TUR) WAS PROBABLY NOT SERIOUS. THE CHINESE NEEDED THESE
DECISIONS THEMSELVES IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THEIR OWN CREDIBILITY IN
HONG KONG,
7. MEMBERS ACCORDINGLY TOOK THE VIEW THAT, IN RESPONSE TO THE
CHINESE PROPOSAL TO DISCUSS QUESTIONS ARISING FROM THE WHITE PAPER
ON THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN HONG
KONG''
'' AT THE SECOND JLG MEETING, WE SHOULD MAKE THE POINTS THAT:
(A) WE HAD ALREADY MADE THE CHINESE SIDE FULLY AWARE OF THE WHITE
PAPER. THEY WOULD ALSO HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE SEPTEMBER ELECTIONS, THE OPENING OF THE NEW LEGCO, ETC., ALL OF WHICH HAD OCCURRED PUBLICLY AND HAD BEEN COVERED EXTENSIVELY BY PUBLIC STATEMENTS
MADE BY THE GOVERNOR AND SENIOR HKG OFFICIALS:
(B) WE HAD NO INTENTION OF MAKING CHANGES TO THE EXISTING STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT UNTIL AFTER THE 1987 REVIEW. NO DECISIONS WOULD BE
TAKEN ON ANY OF THE MATTERS TO BE COVERED IN THE 1987 REVIEW BEFORE
THAT REVIEW TOOK PLACE:
(C) IF THE CHINESE SIDE HAD ANY POINTS THEY WANTED TO MAKE OR
CONCERNS THEY WISHED TO EXPRESS (BEGIN UNDERLINING) OUTSIDE THE
MEETING OF THE JLG (CEASE UNDERLINING) BRITISH OFFICIALS WOULD BE
WILLING TO LSITEN. (COMMENT: EXCO EMPHASISED THAT, IN MAKING THIS
POINT, NOTHING SHOULD BE SAID TO IMPLY ANY COMMITMENT TO PESPOND IN
THE JLG TO ANY CHINESE COMMENTS. THE TERM ''BRITISH OFFICIALS' CHOSEN ADVISEDLY WITH THIS IN MIND. 12-
SECRET
WAS
め