SPEAKING NOTE
HONG KONG CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. There are no plans to make an announcement about direct elections in 1991 during the Secretary of State's forthcoming visit
to Hong Kong.
•
2. Since becoming Foreign Secretary, Mr Hurd has taken two major decisions about Hong Kong: mandatory repatriation of boat people and the Government's nationality package. The Government have also made it clear that the pace of democratisation in Hong Kong is under review and that opinion in the territory favours a somewhat faster rate of development than that envisaged in the February 1988 White
Paper.
3.
There is however no objective reason why an announcement about the 1991 elections needs to be made yet. The Foreign Secretary will wish to digest the outcome of the visit the Governor will be making to Peking (10 - 12 January) and that of his own visit (13 16 January), during which he will be discussing the matter with the Governor, the Executive Council and a wide range of Hong Kong
op in ion.
4. A further important point is that the Basic Law drafting process has reached a critical phase. We are doing all we can to achieve the best possible Basic Law one that will command confidence in Hong Kong. Our efforts to influence the draft are most effective if they are made in private rather than by means of public gestures.
JONACG
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