MARABD3
CONFIDENTIAL
FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ENQUIRY INTO HONG KONG:
INFORMAL BRIEFING SESSION, 6 APRIL: SUMMARY RECORD
Present:
Mr David Howell (Chairman)
Mr Peter Shore
Mr Ian Taylor
Mr Bowen Wells
Mr Mick Welsh
Mr Ivan Lawrence
Mr Michael Jopling
Mr Robert Wilson }
Mr Mark Hutton }
Mr Philip Moon }
Clerks to the
Committee
Mr McLaren
Mr Fifoot
Mr Paul
Miss Marsden
Mr Wood
Mr Footman
Miss Bailey
Relationship between HMG and the Hong Kong Government
1. At the Chairman's request, Mr McLaren outlined the relationship
between HMG and the Hong Kong Government and the extent of the
autonomy at present enjoyed by the Hong Kong Government, explaining that over the years, the trend had been for Hong Kong's autonomy to
increase.
Powers of the Chief Executive/Removal of the Chief Executive
2.
Reverting to one of the themes raised with the Secretary of
State on 22 March, Mr Bowen Wells asked a series of questions about
smooth transfer of government in 1997: how to preserve the key features of Hong Kong's system of Government as it worked in practice; how to avoid the risk that the powers of the Chief Executive could become politically oppressive under the post-1997 regime when the backstop of the FCO and the Westminster Parliament fell away; and whether this argued for increasing the powers of the legislature to control the Executive. Mr Bowen Wells pointed out
that whereas HMG's power to remove the Governor was what ultimately commanded compliance with the Letters Patent, the question of
CONFIDENTIAL