CONFIDENTIAL
B. Nature of a Transitional Regime
7. The UK/HKG is now of its nature a transitional
government.
To what extent should it/is it inevitable that
it must so arrange the institutions of government to
facilitate the succession? i.e. how far can convergence in
advance of 1997 go?
C. Possible Lines of Departure
8. To assimilate, as far as possible, the institutions of
the transitional government to the institutions of the Basic
Law in advance of 1997 could both familiarise the people of
Hong Kong with the future structure of government and go
some way to providing a known set of institutions when
Chinese sovereignty is resumed so that everything will not
then be strange and new Such a familiarisation process
should extend to all thee main organs of Government
Executive, Legislative and Judicial (plans are already being
made as regards the judiciary though, of course, they do
not involve any equivalent jurisdiction to the
interpretative power of the Standing Committee of the NPC).
We have also given a clear indication that we will accept
FB5AAR/3
CONFIDENTIAL