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(ii)
This
the treatment in the Green Paper of elections to the
Legislature would need particularly close discussion.
might be on the basis of a paper which would in effect be an
advance extract from the draft Green Paper (but not explicitly
presented as such).
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the full text of the Green Paper would be passed to the
Chinese some ten days in advance of publication. It would
not be presented as a draft. But we should have to recognise
(as we did over the September 1984 White paper on the Joint
Declaration) that if the Chinese chose to press for textual
changes this would be very difficult to resist. We have to
strike the best balance that we can between giving the Chinese
such ample advance notice as to invite amendments and so
little advance notice that any subsequent amendment would
result in significant delay in publication.
22. It is too early to consider how the White Paper will have to be
handled with the Chinese. This will depend on the nature of the
proposals which it puts forward. However, we must recognise that
the way in which the Green Paper is handled will be a precedent for
the White Paper, and that we are unlikely to be able to be less
forthcoming with it than we have been with the Green Paper.
POSSIBLE OUTCOMES OF THE 1987 REVIEW
23.
The 1987 Review, and in particular the issue of direct
elections to the Legislative Council has already stimulated
considerable public debate in Hong Kong. Opinions on the question
of direct elections are divided. On the one hand, there are those
who oppose in principle the introduction of direct elections: on the
other, there are those who argue for the inclusion of a number of
directly elected seats in the Legislative Council in 1988. Between
these poles of opinion, views are much more diffuse, particularly on
the question of when direct elections should be introduced. It is
by no means certain that a clear consensus on this issue will emerge during the course of the review. Recent events in China could
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