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WERE CLEARLY OPPOSED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS IN
1988. THIS WOULD EVIDENTLY BE WELCOMED BY THE CHINESE. IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, THAT THIS ASSESSMENT WAS WIDELY ACCEPTED IN HONG KONG, SO THAT WE COULD DEFEND CURSELVES AGAINST THE CRITICISM THAT WE HAD DEFERRED TO CHINESE WISHES.
(II) WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT THERE WAS NO CLEAR CONSENSUS, AND
THAT THEREFORE NO DIRECTLY ELECTED ELEMENT SHOULD BE INTRODUCED
IN 1988, WITH THE QUESTION BEING REVIEWED AGAIN AT A LATER DATE (SAY 1990). THE CHINESE WOULD ALSO BE CONTENT WITH THIS. ONCE AGAIN, HOWEVER, WHETHER SUCH A LINE WOULD BE POLITICALLY TENABLE IN HONG KONG WOULD DEPEND ON WHETHER THIS ASSESSMENT WAS WIDELY
SHARED. AT THE VERY LEAST THERE WOULD BE FIERCE CRITICISM FROM
THE PRO-DIRECT ELECTION LOBBY THAT WE HAD AVOIDED THE ISSUE AND
FAILED TO RESPOND TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF HONG KONG PEOPLE AND
STAND UP TO CHINESE.
(III)WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT A MAJORITY OF HONG KONG PEOPLE FAVOURED DIRECT ELECTIONS IN PRINCIPLE, BUT THAT IN VIEW OF THE
CONTINUING DIVISION OF OPINION ON WHETHER THE TIME WAS RIPE FOR
SUCH A DEVELOPMENT IT WOULD BE BEST IF THEY WERE NOT INTRODUCED
IN 1988. WE MIGHT SET A FUTURE DATE FOR THEIR INTRODUCTION OR
LEAVE THIS FOR SUBSEQUENT DECISION. SUCH AN OUTCOME (FOLLOWING
WORD IS UNDERLINED) MIGHT, DEPENDING ON THE BALANCE AND STRENGTH OF OPINIONS EXPRESSED, BE POLITICALLY TENABLE IN HONG KONG, GIVEN
THE TENDENCY OF THE HONG KONG PEOPLE TO SEEK COMPROMISE AND AVOID
CONFRONTATION. BUT THERE ARE CLEARLY THE SAME DANGERS TO THE
CREDIBILITY AND AUTHORITY OF HMG AND THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT.
THE PROSPECT OF A DIRECT CLASH WITH THE CHINESE WOULD BE REDUCED.
IT WOULD HOWEVER STILL BE NECESSARY TO ORCHESTRATE WITH THEM, IN ADVANCE, SOME FORM OF PARALLEL CONCLUSION WITHIN THE BLDC SO AS TO AVOID ANY IMPRESSION THAT WE WERE FORCING ITS HAND. (IV) WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT HONG KONG OPINION CLEARLY FAVOURED THE INTRODUCTION IN 1988 OF A SMALL DIRECTLY ELECTED ELEMENT IN
LEGCO. (OUR INTEREST WOULD PROBABLY BE IN GOING FOR THE SMALLEST
POSSIBLE NUMBER OF SEATS CONSISTENT WITH PUBLIC DEMAND.) IN THAT
CASE WE WOULD HAVE TO PERSUADE THE CHINESE TO GO ALONG WITH SUCH
A CONCLUSION IN THE WHITE PAPER. AGAIN THIS WOULD PROBABLY
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