CONFIDENTIAL
112451
MDLIAN 7896
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 1252
OF 28092OZ JULY 1993
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
PART TWO OF TWO PARTS
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: ROUND-UP REPORT FOR THE 1992/3 SESSION
PARTY POLITICS
19. THE TWO MAIN PARTIES IN LEGCO, THE NEWLY-FORMED LIBERAL PARTY (SUCCESSOR TO THE NOW DEFUNCT CO-OPERATIVE RESOURCES CENTRE) (WITH 15 MEMBERS IN LEGCO) AND THE UDHK (WITH 13 MEMBERS), CONTINUE TO USE THE LEGCO FORUM TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS AGAINST EACH OTHER. THE LIBERAL PARTY IS ANXIOUS TO BUILD UP ITS GRASSROOTS SUPPORT AND THEREFORE ADOPTS A HIGH PROFILE IN MANY POPULIST ISSUES, EG SANDWICH CLASS HOUSING, RETIREMENT PROTECTION SCHEMES. IT IS STILL PERCEIVED LARGELY AS A PRO-CHINA AND PRO-BUSINESS GROUP. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE UDHK HAS YET TO PROVE ITS ABILITY TO ACT RESPONSIBLY IN THE WIDER PUBLIC INTEREST, EG ITS FAILURE TO SUPPORT THE 1993-94 BUDGET NOTWITHSTANDING GENERAL PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE. IT STILL ADOPTS AN ANTI-GOVERNMENT STANCE IN MOST ISSUES EXCEPT FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL PACKAGE.
20. ALTHOUGH THE TWO MAIN PARTIES DOMINATE LEGCO, THEIR RELATIVE BALANCE OF POWER MEANS THAT THE ''INDEPENDENTS' AND OTHER SMALL PARTIES CAN EXERT CONSIDERABLE INFLUENCE ON IMPORTANT ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IN SITUATIONS WHERE THE TWO MAIN PARTIES ARE PITCHED AGAINST EACH OTHER. WE ARE INCREASINGLY DEPENDING ON THE DOZEN OR SO NON-PARTISAN AND INDEPENDENT MEMBERS (ABOUT HALF ARE APPOINTED MEMBERS AND HALF FROM FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES) TO RALLY TO THE GOVERNMENT'S CAUSE IN LEGCO. THEY DO NOT HAVE FIXED POSITIONS AND ARE RECEPTIVE TO LOGICAL PERSUASION. OUR RECENT SUCCESS WITH THE WESTERN HARBOUR CROSSING BILL (LED BY THE LIBERAL PARTY) AND THE AMALGAMATION OF MONGKOK AND YAUTSIM DISTRICTS (LED BY UDHK) WAS THE RESULT OF THE INDEPENDENTS CASTING IN THEIR LOT WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION AND LEGCO
21. GIVEN THE DOMINATION OF LEGCO BY AN ELECTED MAJORITY AND THE LACK OF CONSENSUAL SUPPORT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION BY THE APPOINTED MEMBERS, DEALINGS BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION AND LEGCO MEMBERS HAVE
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