SECRET
REVISED PARAGRAPHS 169 AND 170
We believe strongly that it should be possible to reach an
agreement with the Chinese Government which is fully
compatible with the Joint Declaration, the Basic Law and all
other agreements, and which satisfies both our principles and
Chinese concerns. But we now have only weeks rather than
months to conclude these talks.
D
There will then be a great deal of work to do to ensure that
orderly elections can be held on time:
- We must take the view of this council, reflecting the wider
debate in the community.
- We must set the law draftsmen to work on developing what
will be complex legislation.
-
We must leave time for full consideration of that
legislation by this council.
- And we must complete the process by July 1994 at the latest, since the District Board elections will be held in September of that year, the Boundary and Election Commission is required by law to report in the same month on the constituency
boundaries to be used in geographical elections.
Some have suggested that we should separate the 1994 District
Board elections from the 1995 Municipal Council and LegCo
elections.
This would not work. The proposals affecting both
sets of elections are inter-related. They need to be considered as a package in the talks with China and then in
this council. The conclusion is clear. We have little time
left in which to take the first step of securing agreement, if we can, with the Chinese side.
rev.par.PET
SLM
SECRET
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