CONFIDENTIAL
143756
MDHOAN 2024
Ministers and the Governor therefore concluded that the Governor should proceed to introduce the initial Legislation to LegCo. This will cover: Lowering the voting age to 18 and using the single seat-single vote method for all three tiers of elections; abolishing appointed members in the DBs and MCs and (a proposal on which the Chinese side are keen) Legislation to enable Hong Kong residents who are deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC) to take part in all elected bodies in Hong Kong, including LegCo.
6. We have proposed dates for a further round of talks in December to tackle the more contentious issues: the functional constituencies, the Election Committee, and the issue of objective criteria for the Through Train.
7. The Chinese reaction so far has been slightly more muted than we expected. They have said that if the Governor introduces his proposals to LegCo the talks will have broken down. They are also stepping up preparations for replacing LegCo in 1997 with a Legislature elected on their terms. But they have so far kept the dispute limited to the electoral issue. They may be planning a further blast, perhaps spreading the row into other ares of work in Hong Kong, after the Legislation is introduced on 15 December.
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LEGAL ADVISERS//MS BARRETT LEGAL ADVISERS//MISS BROOKS NEWS D
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