1997, on the basis of consultations.
It was not yet clear how far in advance of 1997 they thought he should be in harness. EXCO favoured an appointment a good while before the transfer of sovereignty in order to avoid the changeover being too abrupt.
what powers should the Chief Executive have?
4. The Governor felt that, if Chinese views were set in concrete at this stage, Hong Kong could be faced with decisions which it would find unacceptable when the Basic Law was finalised. Our aim should therefore be to keep abreast of Chinese thinking, and persuade them not to take any firm decisions at this stage. To this end, it might be useful to prepare a further set of papers, to be handed over during the State Visit. The Secretary of State might tell Wu at the UNGA that they were in preparation, to avoid Chinese thinking firming up any further in the meantime.
5.
It had been clear during his visit to Peking, the Governor said, that the Chinese authorities did not want direct elections at all in 1988. It was most important that they did not say so too firmly in public at this stage, since the people of Hong Kong would then regard direct elections as a test of their ability to make their own choice. We should persuade the Chinese to keep an open mind, and wait and see how Hong Kong opinion reacted in the 1987 Review. Much of Hong Kong opinion was now against direct elections. His own view was that 10 of the 56 seats could be chosen for direct election, without unduly alarming the Chinese or upsetting people in Hong Kong.
6.
-
The Governor said he continued to believe that the development of political parties in Hong Kong would be unhelpful, since it would allow the Communists - the only organised political grouping to run riot. For the elections to LEGCO, it would be important to adopt an efficient system of pre-selection of candidates at the district level, to avoid a plethora of individual nominations which would only sow confusion.
Twesomaer πT.
PJ Westmacott PS/MR RENTON
CONFIDENTIAL