CONFIDENTIAL
TOP COPY
HKK 01/1
GRS 600 CONFIDENT HAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 401
OF 0607552 FEBRUARY 86
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
RFC:
06 FEB 1986
HONG KONG AGREEMENT : RESTRICTED : REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT.
разов
THE LATEST (FEBRUARY) EDITION OF THE MIRROR MAGAZINE JUST
PUBLISHED CONTAINS YET ANOTHER ARTICLE ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
WRITTEN BY MR KOO SING-FAN. AFTER REVIEWING THE ARGUMENTS OVER THE
DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT DURING THE LAST FEW MONTHS,
THE ARTICLE THEN WENT ON TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING POINTS :-
(A) CHINA IS NOT ENTIRELY AGAINST THE DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN HONG KONG. PROVIDED THAT CONSULTATION IS HELD WITH CHINA AND CHINESE AGREEMENT OBTAINED, AND THAT IT IS TO BE SET OUT IN THE BASIC LAW, DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
MAY STILL PROCEED.
(B) CHINA HAS STILL NOT DECADED ON THE QUESTION OF DIRECT ELECTION
TO THE LEGISLATURE. ONE-THIRD OF THE MACAU LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
SEATS ARE RETURNED BY DIRECT ELECTION, YET CHINA HAS NOT OBJECTED
TO THE PORTUGUESE MACAU AUTHORITIES. THE WRITER CONSIDERS THAT IT
WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE FOR ONE-QUARTER OR ONE-FIFTH OF THE
LEGISLATURE IN HONG KONG TO BE RETURNED BY DIRECT ELECTION.
(C) AS REGARDS THE METHOD OF SELECTION OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE, IIT APPEARS UNLIKELY THAT DIRECT ELECTION WILL BE ADOPTED. THERE IS
ADVANTAGE FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO BE SELECTED (BY ELECTION OR CONSULTATION) BY A BODY TO BE FORMED BY FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCHES, AND THEN BE APPOINTED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT. THIS WILL ENSURE THAT THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE WILL BE SUPPORTED BY ALL SECTORS OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL AS ACCEPTABLE TO PEKING. THIS WILL ALSO BE MOST ADVANTAGEOUS FOR THE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY OF HONG KONG, AND
REALIZES THE PRINCIPLE OF LOCAL PEOPLE ADMINISTERING HONG KONG.
(D) PEKING IS NOT RELYING SOLELY ON THE BIG CAPITALISTS TO PULE HONG KONG IN THE FUTURE. WHILE SOME OF THEM MAY ENTER POLITICS DIRECTLY, EXPERIENCE ELSEWHERE HAS SHOWN THAT THEY WILL BE THE MINORITY. IN THE MAJORITY OF CASES, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE POSITION HS HELD BY EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATORS. PEKING FULLY RELAIZES THAT, IN THE COMPLEX AND HIGHLY MODERNIZED CITY OF HONG KONG, THERE IS AN EVEN GREATER NEED FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO BE AN ABLE AND EXPERIENCED ADMINISTRATOR. EVEN HIN THE MAINLAND, PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATORS ARE NOW BEGINNING TO TAKE UP POSTS OF MAYORS AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNORS. IT WOULD BE NATURAL FOR THE CHIEF
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