Background
CONFIDENTIAL
1.
Following introduction of
indirect
elections
for
the Hong
Kong Legislative Council last September, a review of progress
towards representative government will be carried out by the Hong
Kong Government in 1987.
to
1987
2.
In April of last year, Sir Y K Pao expressed the view to Sir
Percy Cradock that movement towards representative government in
Hong Kong was too fast: he indicated that this was the Chinese view.
Chinese concerns have focussed particularly upon the 1987 review, which will include the question of whether direct elections should
be introduced in 1988 to choose some of the Legislative Council's
members. The Chinese are concerned that this review is an attempt
by HMG to introduce far-reaching "democratic reforms"! and thus
preempt the constitutional arrangements which they are to draft for the territory, to be published in their draft Basic Law in 1988. We
have been at pains to explain to the Chinese that we are committed
to the 1987 review; but that we have no prearranged scheme to
preempt the Basic Law as they fear; and that Our intention i s
maintain a dialogue with
them as the likely outcome of the
review emerges in order to ensure as far as possible that this
"converges" with the plans that they are now formulating in their
draft Basic Law. The Chinese have been somewhat reassured by
dialogue, but some of them rema in suspicious of Our long term
intentions on constitutional development. And we have had little indication of their thinking in this area (though Lu Ping told Sir W Harding over dinner in Peking earlier this month that he thought it
would be acceptable to the Chiense if a quarter of LegCo members directly elected). Sir Y K may raise these continuing Chinese
concerns wi th the Secretary of State. It would in any case be
useful if he were to take the message to his contacts in Peking that
the British are indeed acting in good faith over representative government, have no plan to install a system in Hong Kong which will
either create instability ог entrench pro-British and anti-Chinese
elements in power there, are concerned rather to respond to the
wishes of Hong Kong people SO as to preserve stability and
prosperity, and would welcome more indiciations of Chinese thinking
were
so as to ensure convergence.
this
CONFIDENTIAL