CONFIDENTIAL
years ago would
mostly not have
believed that British Hong
The
population
is
Kong would come to an end in 1997.
suddenly confronted by a need to face up to realities which
they have always been able comfortably to put out of their
minds. The combination of a high level of genuine concern,
and even fear, with political inexperience and naïvité is a
volatile mix.
4.
The new mood will be
EXCO, LEGCO and
government.
an
reflected
in
the organs of
UMELCO in the past have been
relatively compliant tools. Appointment to them has been
accolade for those who were considered to have served
Hong Kong well, rather than a route towards the achievement
of political ambitions. They have tended to be politically
members have had no incentive to
From
rather homogenous,
rock
the
and
boat.
All
this
is changing.
elected (albeit
September, half of LEGCO will be
and
local).
This new
in LEGCO and, via
Unofficials on both
indirectly) and will thus for the first time include a
large number of members identified with
accountable to
specific constituencies (functional and
element must affect the appointed members
UMELCO, those in EXCO as well.
bodies will face different political pressures, and they
will often be pulled in a direction which
to HMG and
the Hong Kong Government.
is
The traditional government attitude in Hong Kong
5.
inconvenient
The present structure of the Hong Kong Government is a
constitutionally archaic colonial model, and
attitudes which
"
many of the
were traditional in earlier colonial days.
survive. The tradition of firm
government"
is very strong: too often this can insensitive to the opinions of the persona1 impression of the Hong Kong
from contacts
over
in particular
me an government
governed.
My own
derived
Government,
the past 20
years, is of an
administration which while benevolent in a paternalistic
sense and extremely conscientious about its duties
and at times both in sensitive
This said, there have been
pretty autocratic
intolerant of criticism.
is
to an d
CONFIDENTIAL