SECRET
OPD (K): 15 SEPTEMBER 1992
POINTS TO MAKE
[The Prime Minister will no doubt first ask the Governor to
present his proposals to the Committee]
(Introduction)
As my minute makes clear, I have discussed the Governor's
proposals with him and support them.
(Handling at Westminster)
There is bound to be some criticism from our own benches, as
well as the Opposition, that the Government has not made a
firm commitment to increase the number of directly elected
seats.
- But provided we get a supportive response to the Governor's
alternative approach from the middle ground in Hong Kong, including at least some liberals, this should be manageable.
In that situation, the strong political points for us will be:
(i) The Governor's proposals are a major step forward on
democracy (transformation of functional constituencies; democratically elected Election Committee) and are widely
seen as such in Hong Kong.
(ii) They maximise the chance of continuity after 1997 by
sticking within the terms of the Basic Law.
(iii) They are not a slippery slope to an unsatisfactory outcome, but a package which forms a coherent whole and
will be discussed with the Chinese as such.
opd(k).NIG
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SECRET
FONTS
TO MAKE