IF CRITICISM WERE TRANSLATED INTO ACTION AGAINST THE MAINLAND UNDER THE GUISE OF DEMOCRACY. IN THAT EVENT, INTERVENTION WOULD BECOME INEVITABLE, INITIALLY THROUGH THE SAR EXECUTIVE AUTHORITIES. THE GARRISON WOULD NOT BE MOBILISED UNLESS THERE WERE A GREAT DISTU- BANCE.
FINAL PART OF TWO
BANGKOK FOR SECRETARY OF STATE'S PARTY
REACTION
17. THE HONG KONG PRESS HAS REPORTED REACTIONS FROM SEVERAL BLDC MEMBERS IN PEKING. SZETO WAH HOPED THAT THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS WOULD NOT GIVE UP. MR. JUSTICE SIMON LI SAID DENG, LIKE MANY OTHER INDIVIDUALS, HAD THE RIGHT TO AIR HIS VIEWS, AND IT SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS INTERFERENCE. HE THOUGHT DENG WAS ONE STEP AHEAD OF THOSE CALLING FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS BY ALLOWING HK TO HAVE UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE IN THE FUTURE. MARTIN LEE COMMENTED THAT THE MESSAGE WAS NOT NECESSARILY NEGATIVE: NO ONE HAD PROPOSED UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE IN 1988. LEE SAID IT WAS WRONG FOR DENG TO DISPARAGE THE IDEA OF SEPARATION OF POWERS BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE, THE LEGISLATURE AND THE JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THIS HAD BEEN AGREED EARLIER BY MEMBERS OF THE BLDC SPECIAL GROUP ON THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. LEE ADDED THAT DENG'S REMARKS MIGHT HAVE AN EFFECT ON SOME PEOPLE IN HK. HE FELT THAT THERE WAS A GAP IN DENG'S UNDERSTANDING OF THE HK SITUATION, AND IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THE PEOPLE OF HK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VOICE OF THE MAJORITY WOULD BE REFLECTED TO THE
LEADERS OF CHINA.
18. MISS MARIA TAM SAID SHE WAS NOT SURPRISED BY DENG'S REMARKS. WONG PO-YAN, DAVID LI AND Y.K. PAO FELT ASSURED BY DENG'S STATEMENT THAT HK'S CAPITALIST SYSTEM WOULD REMAIN UNCHANGED FOR ANOTHER 50
YEARS AFTER THE FIRST 50 YEARS.
19. MOST COMMENTATORS QUOTED IN THE MEDIA TOOK THE VIEW THAT DENG WAS LAYING DOWN THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR HONG KONG'S POLITICAL SYSTEM, WITH THE MESSAGE THAT HK SHOULD NOT INTRODUCE DIRECT ELECT- IONS NEXT YEAR. SOME ARGUED THAT IT WOULD NOT THEREFORE BE PRACTICAL
TO CONTINUE PRESSING FOR DIRECT ELECTIONS AS CHINA AND BRITAIN WOULD NOT AGREE TO THEIR INTRODUCTION: OTHERS THAT IT REMAINED
IMPORTANT TO PRESS AHEAD WITH DIRECT ELECTIONS.
20. VISITING MP ROBERT PARRY CALLED ON THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO
SUPPORT DIRECT ELECTIONS FOR LEGCO IN 1988. HE SAID HE WOULD ASK
FOR SIR G. HOWE'S COMMENT ON DENG'S REMARKS.
21.
HKU LAW LECTURE ALBERT CHEN, IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE HK
CHINA NEWS SERVICE, SAID DENG'S OPEN AGREEMENT WITH SIR DAVID WILSON'S COMMENT ON THE NEED FOR PRUDENT AND GRADUAL CHANGE
INDICATED THAT CHINA AND BRITAIN SHARED SIMILAR VIEWS ON THE
SUBJECT. IT THIS ASSUMPTION WAS TRUE, HE SAID, IT WOULD HELP THE
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CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFTING