CO537-6046 — Page 173

HONG KONG

Constitutional Proposals

including non-Chinese.

In connection with the proposals, submitted by the Governor, for the reform of the Legislative Council, involving the creation of an unofficial majority, to be followed at a later date by the progressive development of the present Urban Council into a Municipal Council, I have acquainted myself with the entire views which I understand are beginning to crystallise in the Smaller Territories' Committee about a possible line of approach to constitutional problems in "City States", such as Hong Kong.

2.

So far as I can see from the papers which have been circulated to the Committee and the discussions which have already taken place, the idea which is beginning to emerge is that, in a Colony such as Hong Kong -

(a) there should be one legislative body which would combine the functions of a Legislative Council and those of a Municipal Council.

(b) that when wider issues are under discussion this body should sit as a Legislative Council.

(c) that municipal affairs should be dealt with by a Committee of the Legislative Council consisting only of the unofficial members of that body.

(a) that in the field of municipal and local Government, that Committee of the Council should be invested with subordinate legislative powers.

(e) that responsibility for the executive administration of municipal affairs should rest with the unofficial sub- committee of the Council, acting perhaps through specialised sub sub-committees such as a Health Committee, a Highways Committee and so on.

3. This seems to me to be a very attractice idea for adoption in a territory in which it is possible to have as wide a franchise for the Legislative Council as could be conceded to a Municipal Council concerned only with "Local Government" affairs.

4. This stage has not yet been reached in Hong Kong and it would be a bold man who would attempt to speculate as to when (if ever) this stage will be reached there.

5. As regards the Legislative Council, the proposal which the Secretary of State has accepted, for reasons which he recognises to be valid, is that the franchise should be restricted to British subjects who are not only in a position to establish their claim to that status, but who are prepared to take overt action to establish their claim, thus publicly declaring their adherence to the British regime. The Governor has told us that, while quite a substantial part of the Chinese population of Hong Kong are probably in a position to establish a claim to the status of British subject, it is unlikely that more than a very small minority (amounting perhaps to not more than *16,000) will be prepared to come out into the open with

a positive claim to be British subjects. We are assured that a franchise which is subject to this severe limitation will not be unacceptable in Hong Kong for Legislative Council purposes.

16.