· 3-
S+mctural Changes Shall Follow the Provisions of the Book It is Dubious Whether of Not the Chinese Side Will Agree to It
To take a more conservative stance, it has been stated in the
Joint Declaration that the systems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged for
50 years and that the systems as set out in the Annex I are those which have
all along been practised by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. The only
change after 1997 will be that the Governor and the policy-making Secretaries
will no longer be appointed by Her Majesty, the Queen, but decided by the
Central Government of China. Any attempts to change the structure of power
derived from this system is a departure from the provisions of the book and
can hardly be accepted. In order to convince China to accept the fact that
the unofficials are, in one way or another, held responsible for the specific
scope of business in the LegCo, not only has the Hong Kong Government to
impress the Chinese Government that the unofficials have in practice played a
genuine role of making policy and are not confined to 'advising the Governor'
or simply chimed in with the policies put forth by government officials, but
also pledge that the unofficial members will continue to be given the chance
to work for the betterment of Hong Kong's prosperity.
That is to say, the
Central Government's power will not be pared away extravagantly. To win
China's confidence, those elected members who are subsequently appointed
ExCo members should have similar background, mentality and viewpoint as the
traditional 'elitist' members.
Appointed Ministers are by No Means Ministerial System. It is Envisaged That
the Pressure Groups Will Not Suppørt It
That being the case, it is believed that this package will not gain
the support of the pressure groups which have all along been advocating
democratic reforms because this 'ministerial system' does not live up to their
ideas. People who advocate 'resisting communism through democracy' will even
bluntly sneer at it.
> The
ministers, who are to be appointed by
the Hong Kong Government on the one hand and get the tacit agreement of China
on the other, will inevitably have to seek compromise from both sides. The
chances of having them taking Hong Kong people's stance and striving for Hong
Kong people's interests will thus be very slim.