98
025262
MDHIAN 2801
CONFIDENTIAL
HKB
012/1
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1366
OF 01120OZ MAY 89
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
0
TO OPY Qur?
NX415
r
ᄏᄏ
OUR TELNO 929 : BASIC LAW : MAINLAND DRAFTERS VISIT: DISCUSSIONS
WITH MEMBERS OF THE FIRST GROUP
SUMMARY
WE HAD INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS WITH THREE MEMBERS OF THE FIRST GROUP OF MAINLAND DRAFTERS. DISCUSSIONS COVERED ARTICLES 73, 19, 106, 24 AND 31. WE REITERATED OUR CONCERNS OVER THESE ARTICLES AND OUR SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT. THE DRAFTERS POINTED OUT THAT VIEWS OF
HONG KONG DRAFTERS WERE DIVIDED ON SOME OF THESE POINTS BUT AGREED THAT IMPROVEMENT WAS POSSIBLE.
DETAILS
2. WE TOOK FOUR MAINLAND DRAFTERS, WANG HANBIN, QIAN WEICHANG, XIANG CHUNYI AND LIN HENGYUAN ON A TOUR OF THE HARBOUR ON 1 MAY. THEY (EXCEPT WANG WHO HAD ANOTHER ENGAGEMENT) THEN HAD LUNCH WITH DARWIN
CHEN AND MICHAEL SUEN. DISCUSSIONS COVERED THE FOLLOWING :
ARTICLE 73
3. WE REITERATED THE NEED TO PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATURE TO EVOLVE. THE TEXT OF ARTICLE 73 LIMITED THE ABILITY OF MEMBERS OF THE
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO INTRODUCE BILLS AND WOULD NOT THEREFORE BE
CONDUCIVE TO SUCH EVOLUTION.
4. XIANG CHUNYI, A MEMBER OF THE BLDC SPECIAL GROUP ON POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF NPC LAW COMMITTEE, SAID THE GROUP OF 89 HAD RESERVATIONS ON ALLOWING LEGCO MEMBERS TO INTRODUCE
BILL, BUT AGREED THAT SUCH A DEVELOPMENT SHOULD NOT BE RULED OUT: THE TEXT WAS ACTUALLY INTENDED TO PROVIDE SOME FLEXIBILITY. HE FURTHER AGREED TO OUR POINT THAT THE TEXT WAS SOMEWHAT ANOMALOUS IN THE DIFFERENT MANNER IT DEALT WITH EXPENDITURE, OPERATIONS AND POLICIES OF THE GOVERNMENT WHICH WERE OFTEN CLOSELY RELATED. WE
SUGGESTED THAT THE CE SHOULD BE IN A POSITION TO GIVE CONSENT TO
PAGE
1
CONFIDENTIAL