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In doing this, I did not seek any confrontation with China. Indeed, in formulating my proposals, I took account of the two points that the Chinese had made publicly clear were most important for them, i.e. that Martin Lee and liberals like him should not be appointed to the Executive Council and that the number of directly elected seats in 1995 should not exceed what was provided for in the Basic Law. I was aware that meeting these concerns would draw severe criticism, both in Hong Kong and elsewhere. So it was important that I should, within the parameters set down in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law, do what I could in other areas to make the system of government in Hong Kong more democratic and increase the degree of public participation in that government. The proposals that I put forward were in all conscience modest, a point that is often lost now that the Chinese have expressed their opposition to them in no uncertain terms.
I had expected a strong Chinese response to my proposals. So far, this response has perhaps been at the noisier end of the spectrum. It will no doubt continue for the next few months, during the period when legislative amendments are put into the Legislative Council and then discussed by Members of LegCo. But I do not believe that it is necessarily the case that the Chinese will continue their campaign at the present level until 30 June 1997. They have little to gain, and much to lose, from inheriting an unstable Hong Kong in which business confidence is low. Nor is it necessarily the case that they will definitely reverse everything in 1997. As you point out, it is possible that there may be changes in Peking by then. It is also possible that, given the amount of international attention that there will be on Hong Kong in 1997, the Chinese may feel constrained from taking any drastic action then.
Support for my proposals, both in the community and in the Legislative Council, is still pretty robust. But if this changes, and the proposals are amended in some respects, it is important that the amendments should come from within Hong Kong. If this is the case, I do not agree that it will necessarily cause a major loss of face for me or the Government. It would be wrong for us to be more heroic than the people of Hong Kong are prepared to be, just as it would be wrong for us to be less heroic.
You argue that Peking is not going to support a democratic system in Hong Kong which will undermine its political regime in China. But this is clearly provided
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