CONFIDENTIAL
The
until after the September Legco elections before deciding which politicans to invite as Category I visitors. Governor has now sent us his suggestions. They are all good
candidates and new members of LegCo. The idea behind this
proposal was that the four selected should, as far as possible, be representative of all the main political groupings in Hong Kong. It also makes sense that they should reflect the results of the September elections. I have therefore suggested three from the three main liberal groups, and one representative of the Cooperative Resources Centre, an embryo party which has formed in Legco in opposition to the United Democrats.
4.
On timing, the Governor suggested either the lunar
New Year holiday recess in February, or the Easter recess in April. April would be less satisfactory from our point of
view for several reasons. Parliament would normally be in
recess for most of the period in question and April is in any case likely to be a bad month for electoral reasons. Since the main purpose of this visit is to familiarise these people with the workings of Parliament, that would clearly not be very satisfactory. An additional point is that we would be running over into the next financial year. I understand it is possible to do this in certain unavoidable circumstances, but we should try not to plan on that basis.
5.
February, therefore, seems the better time. The
Governor warns that the lunar New Year holiday may not be a
welcome time from the visitors' point of view, as it is
traditionally spent with families. In that case the following week might be best. We could manage either week
this end, although I understand the last week of February
would not be convenient for OVIS, who will be heavily
committed then with other visitors.
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CONFIDENTIAL