GOVERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.
FRI 12 MAR 93 06:56
PG.11
Q6
A6
A5
RESTRICTED
Life is difficult enough without thinking up new and imaginary difficulties. Mr. Goodlad was simply stating the obvious. He was repeating the point made by the Secretary of State to Emily Lau, Christine Loh and C.H. Leong when he saw them in January. Britain's international
obligations refer to any agreements reached between Britain and China, of which the Joint
Declaration, a treaty registered at the United Nations, is one. I find it hard to imagine that LegCo would come up with proposals that flagrantly breached Britain's obligations under
the Joint Declaration.
Mr. Goodlad's statement does not imply that LegCo will be constrained in its ability to
approve any understanding reached between
Britain and China on the 1995 elections.
Will LegCo be able to amend an understanding
Lagreement reached between Britain and China?
We have said that we will recommend to the
Legislative Council any understanding reached in
discussions with China. But the constitutional
position is clear: the Legislative Council has the responsibility to enact legislation.
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