FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1986
13
I DON'T KNOW MR RENTON BECAUSE IF YOU ARE FOR EXAMPLE PRECISELY WHAT YOU ARE REFERRING TO, BUT THERE WILL OBVIOUSLY BE INFORMAL DISCUSSIONS BETWEEN HK OFFICIALS AND THE CHINESE ON A WIDE RANGE OF ISSUES. THERE ARE FORMAL DISCUSSIONS, IF THAT'S THE RIGHT WORD FOR IT, IN THE LAND COMMISSION, WHICH HAS ALREADY REACHED POSITIVE PROPOSALS. THERE WILL OF COURSE IN THIS AT TIMES BE DIVERGENT VIEWS ABOUT DETAIL AND IT'S NOT FOR US TO STEP IN SURELY ON EVERY OCCASION AND EVERY DETAIL AND SAY WHAT WE THINK THAT WE ARE THERE WITH THE OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY AND WHERE
IF MATTERS BECOME DIFFICULT ON A MAJOR ISSUE, AND I STRESS THE WORD IF, THAT IS WHAT THE JLG WILL BE LOOKING AT, THAT IS WHAT MINISTERIAL MEETINGS MAY BE ABOUT. I DON'T THINK IT IS NECESSARY OR RIGHT FOR US TO STEP IN EVERY TIME THERE'S AN ARGUMENT ABOUT THE MEANING OF A WORD.
MR ROBERTS: WE'VE GOT TIME FOR JUST TWO MORE QUESTIONS. IS MARK BRAYNE,
THE FIRST
MARK BRAYNE, BBC: MR RENTON YOU JUST SAID THAT IT WOULD BE WRONG TO SPEND TIME CHASING THE WILLOW ISPS OF OVER FERTILE MINDS. ARE YOU SUGGESTING IN ANY WAY THAT THE IDEA OF DIRECT ELECTIONS IS A WILLOWISP OF AN OVER FERTILE MIND?
MR RENTON OF COURSE NOT. WHAT I WAS SUGGESTING, AND YOU KNOW THAT VERY WELL, DON'T TRY TO PUT SUGGESTIONS INTO MY MOUTH, WHAT I WAS SUGGESTING, WITH ALL RESPECT TO THE GENTLEMAN BEHIND YOU, THIS WISH THAT WE SHOULD GIVE HYPOTHETICAL ANSWERS TO HYPOTHETICAL PROBLEMS THAT HAVEN'T YET OCCURRED, THAT I REGARD THAT AS A WILL OF THE WISP.
Q.
JAMIE WALKER, SCM POST: MR RENTON, IF YOU ACCEPT THAT LEGCO IS, THE ROLE OF LEGCO IS, TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF HK PEOPLE AND TO REFLECT THE VIEWS OF HK PEOPLE, IS NOT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT THEN BOUND TO FOLLOW WHAT IT RECOMMENDS?
MR RENTON THE EXACT ROLE, AS YOU WILL KNOW, OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEGCO AND EXCO IN THE FUTURE IS ONE OF THE MATTERS OF DETAIL TO BE WORKED OUT IN THE FUTURE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT. WE ALL KNOW THAT LEGCO ITSELF HAS BEEN EVOLVING OVER THE YEARS, BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE, AND ATTENDED THE OPENING SESSION IN OCTOBER, LEGCO
NOW SITTING WITH ELECTED UNOFFICIALS, ALBEIT INDIRECTLY ELECTED. THIS IN ITSELF IS A MAJOR CHANGE. NOW THAT PATTERN IS ONE THAT YOU, THE PEOPLE OF HK, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF HK WILL CLEARLY BE LOOKING AT TO SEE WHAT THE APPROPRIATE NEXT STEP SHOULD BE. IS WHAT THE 87 REVIEW WILL BE ABOUT.
THAT
STEPHEN DAVIES, RTHK MR RENTON, I'M SORRY SIR, THAT COMPLETELY MISSED THE QUESTION. THE QUESTION WAS THAT GIVEN THAT LEGCO IS SUPPOSED TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PEOPLE OF HK NOW, DOES THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT NOW FEEL OBLIGED TO LISTEN TO WHAT LEGCO SAYS AND ACT UPON IT?
MR RENTON THAT IS ACTUALLY NOT THE PATTERN THE WAY THINGS HAPPEN AT THE MOMENT, IS IT?
IS IT? LEGCO AT THE MOMENT IS A COMBINATION OF APPOINTED UNOFFICIALS
'INTERJECTION :
Page 40Page 41