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until the White Paper is issued in February, but the arrangements to permit that decision to be properly implemented need to be put in
hand now.
6.
The changes would be in line with arrangements already operating in the New Territories, where the nine District Boards
elect representatives to the Regional Council. They would provide
an incentive for the Urban Council to develop closer working
relationships with the urban District Boards.
7.
There is clearly a negative side to adopting the proposed
course. We have been taking the public line, both in London and
Hong Kong, that no decisions have yet been taken on the issues
raised in the review; that the full range of issues must be given
proper consideration together; and that our decisions will be made
public in the White Paper.
8.
We asked the Hong Kong Government to consider whether there
was not a tidier course of action. After careful consideration they
have concluded that the alternatives would be unacceptable.
would
be:
They
(a)
(b)
c)
to defer the changes to 1991, which ExCo has concluded is not
defensible;
not to make an announcement, which would effectively debar
current Urban Council members from membership of District
Boards from 1989 until the next elections in 1991. This
would also not be defensible;
to defer the 1988 District Board elections. This is not
practical, as new legislation would be required before 1
January 1988, and not defensible as it would involve
arbitrarily extending the terms of members who had been elected for a specific term of three years.
I conclude therefore that there is no practicable alternative to an early announcement of these essentially minor and technical
9.
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