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TO DESKBY 01010OZ HONG KONG
DESK
TELNO 269
INDEX
OF 311901Z JANUARY 90
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
122
23
071333
MDHOAN 2150
012/1
(130)
YOUR TELNOS 375-8, PEKING TELNO 136 AND UKREP JLG TELNO 20: CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: GEC, VOTING AND NATIONALITY
1. WE ARE MOST GRATEFUL FOR THE SPEED WITH WHICH YOU HAVE PRODUCED THESE DRAFT PAPERS. WE ARE BROADLY CONTENT. WHILE WE SHALL WISH TO DO SOME EDITORIAL WORK, WHICH WILL DEPEND ON HOW THE PAPERS ARE TO BE USED, WE BELIEVE THAT THEY ENTER INTO ABOUT THE RIGHT DEGREE OF DETAIL AND ARE ABOUT THE RIGHT LENGTH. OUR COMMENTS BELOW DEAL PRINCIPALLY WITH CHANGES IN THE ORDERING OF SOME ELEMENTS IN ORDER TO BRING OUT POINTS MORE CLEARLY. GRATEFUL TO KNOW DESKBY 01090OZ WHETHER YOU ARE CONTENT WITH OUR PROPOSED AMENDMENTS. WE SHALL AIM TO SUBMIT THE PAPERS TO MINISTERS ON 1 FEBRUARY.
2.
YOUR TELNO 376: VOTING PROCEDURES
A) WE BELIEVE IT WOULD BE A MORE LOGICAL PROGRESSION IF PARAGRAPHS 4 (D) AND (C) WERE TO SWAP PLACES.
B) GIVEN OUR AGREEMENT THAT VOTING PROCEDURES ARE NOT
STRICTLY A CONVERGENCE PROBLEM (MY TELNO 234 PARA 8 AND YOUR TELNO 350 PARA 11), PARAGRAPH 4 (E) NEEDS A GLOSS. WE
SUGGEST THE FOLLOWING REDRAFT:
QUOTE THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO INTRODUCE IN 1995 VOTING PROCEDURES WITH WHICH HONG KONG PEOPLE WERE
SERIOUSLY UNHAPPY. UNQUOTE
3.
YOUR TELNO 377: NATIONALITY/RIGHT OF ABODE
A) WE BELIEVE THAT PARAGRAPH 6 SHOULD PRECEDE PARAGRAPH 5
(IN ORDER TO DEAL FIRST WITH PROBLEMS OF PRINCIPLE BEFORE
ADDRESSING PRACTICAL PROBLEMS OF IMPLEMENTATION).
COULD
B) THE LAST SENTENCE OF PARA 5 IS A SEPARATE POINT.
IT BE REMOVED TO A SEPARATE PARAGRAPH WHICH WOULD PRECEDE
EXISTING PARA 6?
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