CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 3849
OF 21120OZ NOVEMBER 89
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
/
with 13
021333
MDHIAN 5450
pw
Internat."
OUR TELNO 3836: BASIC LAW: REMARKS BY CHINESE OFFICIALS: PRESS
REPORTS
SUMMARY
1. LI HOU RULES OUT OMELCO AND 4-4-2 MODELS. A NEW MODEL INCORPORATING THE ''GOOD'' POINTS OF VARIOUS PROPOSALS MAY BE DRAWN UP. PROPOSALS ON ART 23 AND NATIONALITY OF LEGCO MEMBERS ELABORATED. NO FURTHER CONCESSIONS TO BE MADE ON CPG/SAR RELATIONSHIP. LU PING COMMENTS ON CONVERGENCE. ZHOU NAN REITERATES CHINESE OBJECTION TO INTERNATIONALISATION AND HOPES THAT WITH SINCERITY AND COOPERATION CURRENT DIFFICULTIES IN SINO-BRITISH RELATIONS CAN BE OVERCOME. JI
PENGFEI MAKES SOME GENERALLY REASSURING REMARKS.
DETAIL
2. RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BASIC LAW WHEN SPEAKING TO HONG KONG JOURNALISTS YESTERDAY, LI REFERRED IN PARTICULAR TO THE POLITICAL SYSTEM AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CPG AND THE SAR.
3. ON THE LEGISLATURE, LI SAID PERSONS OF THE DALAI-LAMA TYPE WHO ADVOCATED SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO BECOME PART OF THE SAR LEGISLATURE. ONE WAY TO KEEP SUBVERSIVE PEOPLE OUT OF THE
LEGISLATURE WOULD BE TO REQUIRE LEGCO MEMBERS TO PLEDGE QUOTE RECOGNITION OF THE PRC UNQUOTE, AND THE INCLUSION OF SUCH A PROVISION WOULD BE DISCUSSED IN THE BLDC SPECIAL GROUPS MEETINGS. HE DID NOT RULE OUT THE EMERGENCE OF POLITICAL GROUPS: EVERYONE WOULD
HAVE THE FREEDOM TO FORM OR JOIN POLITICAL GROUPS PROVIDED THE
RELEVANT HONG KONG LAWS WERE OBSERVED.
4. IN AN
INTERVIEW WITH WEN WEI PO (COPY OF THE CHINESE TEXT BEING
FAXED TO HKD: TRANSLATION WILL FOLLOW), LI SAID THAT THE OMELCO AND THE 4-4-2 MODELS FOR THE BASIC LAW HAD BEEN RULED OUT. REACTIONS IN HONG KONG TO THE JUNE EVENTS HAD CAUSED CONCERN THAT THE EXECUTIVE AND THE LEGISLATURE OF THE SAR MIGHT BE CONTROLLED BY ELEMENTS ANTAGONISTIC TO THE CPG. THE BICAMERAL PROPOSAL AND DIFFERENT VOTE COUNTING SYSTEMS COULD ENSURE THE INTERESTS OF VARIOUS SECTORS REPRESENTED IN THE LEGISLATURE. LI ALSO HINTED THAT THE SPECIAL
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