Parliamentary group and the Association of Commonwealth parliamentarians. They hope, in addition, to meet with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons (though the composition of this committee still awaits
confirmation).
The delegation will also be meeting a number of peers and members of the House of Commons from all parties who have a special interest in Hong Kong.
Public meetings
Members of the public will have two opportunities to listen to the delegation's views. At lunchtime on Tuesday December 8th, at 12.30, Martin Lee has been invited by the Contemporary China Institute of the School of Oriental & African Studies to give a talk about the transition period,
with particular reference to the Basic Law and democracy. Details of the event may be obtained from the Contemporary China Institute, School of Oriental & African Studies, Malet Street, London WC1 (tel: 637-2388).
On Wednesday evening, at 7.30pm, a public meeting has been arranged at the new Chinese community centre in the grounds of St Martin's-the-Fields church, in Trafalgar Square. Please note that this meeting will be held in Cantonese.
For further information about either of these meetings, or other aspects of the delegation's visit, you may also contact Hong Kong Link on (01) 354 0883. Ask to speak to Robert Archer.
Do You Support Direct Elections?
If you do, you may wish to sign the letter being circulated (in Chinese) by
members of Hong Kong Link and other groups, asking the British and H Kong government to review the findings of the recent Survey Office Report, and consult Hong Kong opinion directly about wheth
not
the population wishes to see direct elections introduced in 1988 for a proportion of seats to the Legislative Council.
The text of this letter is available (in the original Chinese) from Hong Kong Link, c/o 22 Coleman Fields, London N1 7AF. A report about this initiative is also included in this issue of Hong Kong Link newsletter.
If you wish to support direct elections, please note that you will need to return your signature and name to Hong Kong Link before Wednesday evening, December 9, because the organisers expect to make a public statement on December 10th.
OPEN LETTER TO UK FROM EIGHT LEGISLATIVE COUNCILLORS
In November, eight LegCo members made public a sharp letter, criticising the British government for shifting away from earlier commitments to introduce direct elections for some seats on the Legislative Council.
The letter was signed by Jackie Chan Chai-keung, Hui Yin-fat, Richard Lai Sung-lung, Dr Conrad Lam Kui-shing, Martin Lee Chu-ming, Desmond Lee Yu-tai, Pang Chun-hoi and Szeto Wah.
Martin Lee Chu-ming is the leader of the delegation visiting Britain in early December; Jackie Chan and Dr Conrad Lam are among those accompanying him. The London delegation will press the British government to introduce direct elections in 1988.
Szeto Wah will be leading a parallel delegation that will visit Beijing to make representations to the Chinese government concerning the Basic Law. The text of the letter is as follows:
We, the undersigned, wish the British public to know what is being done by their government to the people of Hong Kong.
In 1984, when Britain agreed to hand over Hong Kong and its 5.5 million people to China in 1997, the British Parliament and the people of Hong Kong were repeatedly assured that a system of representative government would be set up in Hong Kong before 1997.
During the parliamentary debates on the Sino-British Joint Declaration on
the Question of Hong Kong, Sir Geoffrey Howe assured Parliament that a "solidly based democratic government" would be developed in Hong Kong. He also said: “During the years immediately ahead, the government of Hong Kong will be developed
increasingly
on
representative lines".
Promises of installing a government with an element of direct elections in the Legislative Council were linked with the Sino-British agreement. It was because of these promises that Parliament and the Hong Kong people found the agreement acceptable.
The introduction of partial direct elections to the Legislative Council in 1988 is the first but absolutely necessary step towards the development of a democratic government in Hong Kong before 1997, which is vital to Hong Kong's continued existence as a capitalist system. For without democracy in Hong Kong, there is no hope that the future government of the Special Administration Region of Hong Kong will be able to defend the rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people or to protect Hong Kong's interest in a situation involving a conflict of interests vis-a-vis the Central Government. Without democracy, the policy of "one country two systems" and "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" is doomed to fail.
But these promises have now gone
4
by the wayside because of opposition by the People's Republic of China, whose officials have repeatedly said via the mass media in Hong Kong that direct elections must not be introduced in 1988. We believe that such public statements constitute a clear breach of the Sino-British agreement for Clause 4 provides that "during the transitional period... the government of the United Kingdom will be responsible for the administration of Hong Kong with the object of maintaining and preserving its economic prosperity and sound stability; and that the government of the People's Republic of China will give its co-operation in this connection".
The current attitude was reflected this year by Lord Glenarthur, the British minister with special responsibility for Hong Kong. At a press conference in Hong Kong on 19th September 1987, he was asked about certain promises made in 1984 and responded thus: "I am not sure it is really useful to concentrate too much on history in all this".
But if promises made in 1984 which induced both the British Parliament and the people of Hong Kong to accept the Sino-British agreement, are now considered to be history and are no longer of relevance, we have every reason to believe that the British government is going to betray not only the people of Hong Kong but also the British Parliament by reneging on its