CATABJ
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(b)
paragraph 4 of the Joint Declaration, which states that, during the transitional period, the Government of the United Kingdom will be responsible
for the administration of Hong Kong with the object
of maintaining and preserving its economic
prosperity and social stability: and that the Government of the PRC will give its cooperation in
this connection.
6.
Taking each element of government in turn (the Chief Executive/the Executive/the Legislature) the following issues will arise in achieving convergence.
THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
7.
The Governor and Senior Officials are at present
appointed by HMG. According to Annex 1 to the Joint
Declaration the Chief Executive must be selected "by
election or consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government". In public discussion in
Hong Kong a number of possible methods of achieving this
has been suggested, including:
(a)
by
qualified
contested direct election among all
the
candidates on that basis of universal suffrage;
(b) by election among members of the Legislature,
if necessary after consultation among them, on a short list of eligible candidates from within or outside the legislature;
(c)
by consultation, followed if necessary by
election, by some other electoral college to provide
for a wider basis of the election (referred to below as
the Consultative College). There is a number of
possible methods of achieving selection on this
basis, including a college composed of current members of the Executive and the Legislature: former
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