Position paper for the Hong Kong Democracy. Delegation
key points
* It is true that the British Government has made no promises of direct elections in 1988, but only in a TECHNICAL sense.
* There is an undeniable public perception that Britain undertook there would be direct elections and that representative government would be in place well before 1997.
*
t
;
If direct elections are not introduced in 88 they would not begin until 1991 at the earliest. Such a schedule would not allow enough time for a representative local government to develop and be ready to assume responsibility as the SAR government.
* The undertaking to introduce democratic institutions was inextricably intertwined with the Sino-British Agreement on the future of HK.
*
1
1
It is difficult to believe that, in 1984, the time-frame being visualized for the introduction of direct elections was any later than 1988.
to determine
* There was general expectation that the 1987 review was not whether there would be direct elections in 1988 but HOW these elections would be held.
*. It is clear that Britain had conjured up an atmosphere in which HK people were led to believe that they would rapidly be given the institutions of democracy. The promise to develop democratic institutions "progressively" also led to the belief that, with indirect elections being introduced in 1985, direct elections would follow in 1988. To argue now that there was no actual promise to have direct elections in 1988 is little more than falling back on a technicality.
*
Mrs Thatcher said in her Dec '84 HK press conference "We shall honour our obligations to the full Long before 1997.“ Thus it was on the undertaking there would be speedy development of a solidly based democratic administration in IIK that parliament accepted the
HK
Agreement.
* Britain's reluctance to honour its commitments to HIK is traceable directly to Chinese pressure. (citing Mr Xu's statements in Nov '85, the inclusion of political reform at the next. JLG meetion to which the British side complied after initial resistance and repeated warnings by senior Chinese officials to Britain not to institute major political changes in HK until after the promulgation of the Basic Law in 1990).
* The 1987 Green Paper bore almost no similarity to that of 1984. Conspicuously missing was any reaffirmation of Britain's 1984 commitment to develop representative govt. in HK progressively. This Green Paper was unique in that it did not advocate any form of political reform. The Govt. explained thats by declaring it did not want to lead public opinion.