(b)
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It would
audience
i.e. the
demonstrate to the community, and the wider
(incl. China) that we meant what we said,
proposals are just proposals, and we are
prepared to listen to contrary views.
12
The
case for no amendment before introducing
our proposals to LegCo can be stated thus :
(a)
No amendment that we would be prepared to introduce
likely to satisfy the Chinese demands. Indeed,
is
past experience had shown that concession on our part
whets the Chinese appetite for further concessions,
thus forcing us step by step into a position which
departs substantially from our basic premise,
i.e. that the 1994-95 election arrangements must be
fair, open and acceptable to the community.
(b) Given the support by the LegCo and the community for
our proposals (see para. 9 above), it would be
difficult for us to explain why we had amended our
proposals substantially before introducing them into
the LegCo. In particular, an amendment at this stage
would be widely regarded by "liberal supporters" of
proposals in the LegCo as the first
the
Government's
sign
of
backing down.
This could lead to a
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