context of to-day's Hong Kong, and I am grateful to all members who have kindly contributed to that debate, notably Mr. John Wilson and our past President, Dr James Hayes, and I would now like to briefly give you the upshot of that review, and if any member would like to give input into this please do so.
This review covered such issues as the Society's role in relation to the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law and on this score, there is no doubt that the Society can continue to function after 1997 without fear of any legal restrictions other than those at present contained in the Society's Ordinance. In addition under Article 149 of the Basic Law it is clear that there will be nothing to prevent the Hong Kong Branch of the Society having dealings with its parent body in London or with other branches in the region or even with international bodies.
The Council also discussed two other issues, firstly the Title, and secondly its appeal to all the community in Hong Kong. On the first issue there was general consensus that the Society should continue to be called the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. It may seem unfashionable to retain the word Royal but in view of our history as outlined above I believe it is the right decision. There is also the problem of what to call ourselves if we did not include the word Royal. There is already in Hong Kong a Society called the Asiatic Society originating in London, and another one called the Asia Society formed about six years ago from America. For this Society to drop the name Royal will probably cause even more confusion than there is already.
On the second issue the Council agreed that whilst it had broadened its appeal over the last ten years, which has brought in many more local orientated members on the Council and in its overall membership it should continue to do more in this direction, without of course deleting one of the original purposes of the Society which is to inform and educate the public about the history life and culture of the local community. Related to this the Council agreed that where appropriate the Society should keep in close touch with other local societies in its various fields.
The review and the discussions in Council were I felt very valuable in focusing our attention on the current status of the Society. However,
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