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[BARONESS CHalker of WallASEY |
[LORDS]
Our
affairs. while staying within the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Basic Law and other relevant exchanges with the Chinese side. "The Governor's proposals represent judgment of the right way forward for Hong Kong. But we have said from the start that we are open to alternative ideas, from the people of Hong Kong or from the Chinese side. We have had a wide range of suggestions from people in Hong Kong. The Chinese side have opposed the proposals without offering anything in their place.
"Since last October, we and the Governor have been urging the Chinese side to discuss these electoral issues with us in order to reach an understanding. We are ready to enter such discussions without preconditions. We want to see as much continuity as possible in Hong Kong's electoral arrangements before and after 1997.
"Some two months ago, we renewed our efforts to get talks under way with China. Since then, there have been intensive diplomatic contacts in Peking. It may be useful for the House if I set out the basis on which we were prepared to hold discussions.
"First, we accepted that the talks should be on the basis of the Joint Declaration, the principle of convergence with the Basic Law and the relevant understandings and agreements reached between Britain and China. The Governor's proposals are wholly compatible with these.
"Secondly, as I made plain to the House on 10th March, we told the Chinese side that the British team in these discussions would include represen- tatives of the Hong Kong Government on the same basis as other officials taking part in the talks. Hong Kong officials have participated over the last 10 years in discussions with the Chinese side as members of the British team, including during the negotiations on the Joint Declaration and subsequently as members of the Joint Liaison Group. We cannot and do not accept what some Chinese officials have said in the last few days-that the role of the people from Hong Kong should be downgraded in discussions about Hong Kong's future.
"We received a positive response on the principle of talks from the Chinese side in early February. To help get talks started, we and the Governor therefore decided, with the advice of the Executive Council in Hong Kong, to postpone the original plan to publish the draft electoral legislation in Hong Kong's Official Gazette on 12th February. As the diplomatic contacts proceeded, we held up publication for four further weeks. But we told the Chinese side that it was not possible to delay indefinitely, given the need to pass legislation before the Legislative Council rose for its summer recess in July.
"It is disappointing that, despite all our efforts, the Chinese side were still not able to agree by 12th March to a date for talks-or even to a date on which an announcement of talks could be made. As
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we had forewarned them, the Governor therefore published his proposals that day. A copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
"Publication in the Official Gazette is only the first step in the legislative process. Introduction of the Bill into the Legislative Council would be a separate step. As the Governor has said, we will have to judge, in the light of developments, when to take that step. Thereafter, I am sure that members of the Legislative Council would want to discuss the draft legislation in great detail, in the light of the various alternatives put forward, before they reach a decision.
"Publication of the legislation should not make it more difficult to begin talks with China. The Bill sets out the Governor's proposals, which have been public since October, in legislative form. This does not affect the basis for talks with China, the need for such talks or our wish to hold them. We have said that if we reached an understanding with the Chinese side we would recommend this to the Legislative Council.
"We remain ready for talks at any time and I hope that the Chinese side will be prepared to settle quickly on arrangements for them. Britain has responsibility for the administration of Hong Kong until 1997. Part of that responsibility is to maintain the steady progress towards democracy in Hong Kong. We are open to discussions about how to achieve that. But the key point is that the electoral arrangements in Hong Kong should be fair, open and acceptable to the people of Hong Kong.
"The Chinese side also has responsibilities and interests as the future sovereign power. Britain and China have every incentive to work together to ensure the future success of Hong Kong. We will continue to pursue steadily the path of co- operation with China: we look to the Chinese side to do the same."
My Lords, that concludes the Statement.
Lord Richard: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for repeating the Statement made by her right honourable friend in another place. We on this side of the House welcome the Statement. The Labour Party gave its broad support to the Patten proposals to extend democracy within Hong Kong when they were announced, though we were not perhaps quite so sure that they are sufficient to adjust what I think has been called the "democratic deficit". The proposals could perhaps have been more wide ranging, but despite this caveat we generally support them.
We also believe that these proposals should have been made somewhat earlier. Admittedly Mr. Patten delayed gazetting the proposed Bill in the hope that he could get the Chinese to negotiate; but it would perhaps have been better if the proposals had been announced during the previous governorship.
The Government here must now try to relaunch talks with China as soon as possible. It has, I am afraid, become clear that a gap has developed between the Governor, on the one hand and the Chinese Government on the other. We do not quite understand why that has been allowed to happen; nor, indeed, why relations have been permitted
to