adult electorate, for which there will be no property
You will recall that at the
or literacy qualification.
time when this matter was discussed with you in the early
months of this year, it was thought that constitutional
advance in Hong Kong would, primarily, probably take the
form of the creation of a Municipal Council. There was .
then in mind the probable precedent of Singapore, where
it was expected that the initial constitutional advance
would take the form of broadening the representative
basis of the Municipality, and transferring to it
some of the functions of the Central Government. I need
not trouble you with the reasons leading up to the
recommendation, which is now under consideration, that
the principal changes should be made in the Legislative
But they undoubtedly have some bearing on
Council.
the view so far as the Singapore precedent is concerned,
that the creation of a Municipality in Hong Kong should
be the main line of constitutional advance.
4.
The second factor is the decided lack of
enthusiasm on the part of the inhabitants of Hong Kong
for any constitutional changes, reported in your
confidential despatch of the 22nd October. In view of
this, it might be represented that a façade of local
Government is being created, for which there is no demand,
in order to avoid the liberalisation of the Central
Government. Having regard to the fact that the population
in Singapore is also largely Chinese, an announcement
of the decision regarding constitutional changes in
that Colony, which may well be made shortly, might
cause the general public in Hong Kong to think that
there is some substance in this view, and their apathy
and apprehension to become still more pronounced, with
a corresponding diminution in whatever prospects there
may be of the population co-operating in carrying out
the scheme for an elected Municipal Council.
5. I recognise