BENADJ
CONFIDENTIAL
CRITIQUE OF MR LEE'S LETTER OF 8 DECEMBER 1987 TO THE PRIME
MINISTER
The essence of Martin Lee's thesis can be summarised as
1.
follows:
(a)
Hong Kong people accepted the Joint Declaration because HMG had promised that Hong Kong would have a democratic system of government in place before 1997;
2.
(b)
(c)
today most people in Hong Kong have lost faith in the Joint Declaration and in its implementation;
under Chinese pressure HMG has reneged on its commitment
to develop representative government before 1997;
(a) as a result Hong Kong people have lost confidence in the
future. Those who can are leaving Hong Kong or making preparations to go.
Mr Lee holds both the British and Chinese governments responsible for this loss of confidence, alleging that promises have been broken and the Joint Declaration has been breached by both
sides.
He also argues that
(a)
HMG allows itself to be dictated to by the PRC on all important issues;
(b)
the Hong Kong Government has lost credibility as a result. of a number of recent unpopular and unjustified decisions and in particular its handling of the 1987 review of representative government.
3. Mr Lee calls on HMG/HKG to introduce direct elections into LegCo in 1988 in respect of 25% of the seats.
Comment:
i) Hong Kong people accepted the Joint Declaration for a variety of reasons. Above all, they did so because the Joint Declaration presented a convincing framework for the survival of Hong Kong's present systems beyond 1997.
It was the prospect that British and
CONFIDENTIAL