GRS 1800
RESTRICTED
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 1594
OF 241035Z APRIL 87
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
RESTRICTED
Hub 0.15
нив
nat
24 APR 1987
204
OUR TELNO 1520 : HONG KONG AGREEMENT : RESTRICTED: BLDC PLENUM IV
IN PEKING (13-17 APRIL) : PRESS REPORTS AND COMMENTARIES
FURTHER TO TUR, FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS SUMMARIZE COMMENTS MADE BY BLDC MEMBERS AFTER BLDC IV AND PRESS COMMENTARIES.
(A) COMMENTS MADE BY BLDC MEMBERS
2. ON RETURN FROM PEKING, T.K. ANN SAID THAT IN CONSULTING THE PUBLIC ON THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE BL, ACCOUNT WOULD BE TAKEN OF OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN NEWSPAPERS, BUT A SPECIAL COMMITTEE TO COLLECT PUBLIC VIEWS WOULD NOT (NOT) BE SET UP. HE ADDED THAT REGARDING THOSE ISSUES ON WHICH THERE WERE NO CONCLUSIVE VIEWS, THE FIRST DRAFT WOULD SET OUT A RANGE OF OPTIONS, WHICH WOULD BE FURTHER EXAMINED IN LIGHT OF PUBLIC VIEWS.
3. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE PEOPLE'S DAILY, MARIA TAM SAID THAT HONG KONG'S ROLE WAS TO ASSIST IN THE MODERNISATION OF CHINA. TO THIS END, THERE WOULD BE A NEED TO ENSURE BY LAW THE MAINTENANCE OF ITS STATUS AS AN INTERNATIONAL CITY. SHE ALSO SAID THAT THE BL SHOULD SET OUT THE FUNCTIONS OF A CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE TO ADVISE THE NPC/NPC STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGAL MATTERS RELATING TO THE BL.
4.
IN A MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CANADIAN CONGRESS, LI HOU EXPLAINED THAT THE TWELVE BASIC POLICIES SET OUT IN THE JD HAD BEEN INCLUDED IN THE BL, BUT SOME OF THEM DID NOT FEATURE IN CHAPTER I (GENERAL PRINCIPLES). HE SAID THAT THIS WAS A STRUCTURAL PROBLEM
: IF CHAPTER I WAS TOO DETAILED, IT MIGHT RESULT IN REPETITIONS IN
THE OTHER CHAPTERS.
5. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH MING PAO, SHAO TIANREN SAID THAT THE GREAT MAJORITY OF CHINESE STATUES OF A SOCIALIST NATURE WOULD NOT APPLY IN HONG KONG AFTER 1997. AS REGARDS CHINESE STATUTES RELATING TO DEFENCE AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS, NOT ALL OF THEM WOULD APPLY, E.G. THE CONSCRIPTION LAW WOULD NOT BE APPLICABLE. THE BL SHOULD SET OUT CLEARLY THE SCOPE OF CHINESE STATUTES APPLICABLE TO HONG KONG.
6.
SHAO TIANREN ALSO CONFIRMED THAT THE HONG KONG SAR WOULD BE
ABLE TO PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE BL. THE QUESTION WAS PRECISELY WHICH ORGAN SHOULD HAVE THIS POWER, AND HOW THIS SHOULD BE
JEXPRESSED
RESTRICTED