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CONFIDENTIAL
there will be no appointed or official members of LegCo. For the next four years the Governor will continue to
preside over important meetings such as the budget speech,
and the tradition of the Governor's annual autumn address to
the Council will continue, but the Deputy President will preside over other LegCo meetings.
5. In 1995 Council members will elect one of their own
number to be President of the Council. That will bring current Hong Kong practice into line with the Basic Law
(Article 71), which stipulates that the President of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR should be elected in this
fashion. It will mean that the 1995 LegCo, together with its existing President, could carry on through 1997 to
1999.
6.
The Governor gives the reasons for his choice of Mr John Swaine in paragraph 2 of the attached telegram. Further biographical details are also attached. In addition to the posts listed there, Mr Swaine has been an active member of several OMELCO groups and panels: convenor of the Expert Group on the Basic Law; convenor of the Standing Panel on security; member of the Steering Group to strengthen and promote Hong Kong as an international city. He has been a member of ExCo since 1988 but, as the Governor points out, he would step down from ExCo in order to take up his new appointment as Deputy President of LegCo.
7. I see no grounds to question the Governor's proposal. His reasons for wanting to announce the appointment as soon as possible, given in paragraph 3 of his telegram, also make good sense.
K. Sanders
KAM Saunders
GUYAEH/2
CONFIDENTIAL
Mob.
Agaad man. Zapnee гадже Brand Brain 31/0.