XN000022-1993-04-06 — Page 10

9

TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1993

But talks would have many advantages. Talks would, for

example, give Chinese officials the opportunity which they have been very restrained about taking so far to explain what they would like to do about the 1994 and 1995 elections if they do not

like our own proposals. We are still waiting to learn what their

proposals would be and I think talks would give us an excellent

opportunity to discuss that.

Secondly, talks would also give us the opportunity of discussing exactly how the through train might work, exactly how the transition might work, and exactly, for example, how it would affect legislators elected in 1995, elected and committed to

agreeing to the basic law. It would be interesting to find out

whether legislators who were elected in that way would be able

to travel through 1997 to the end of Legislative Council period

of 1999. Those are issues, and there are many others, I am sure, which it would be valuable for us to explore in talks

between Britain and China.

If there are not talks then, given our responsibilities for electoral arrangements in 1994 and 1995, we shall have to put our

proposals to the Legislative Council which has the constitutional

responsibility for dealing with legislation like that. I am sure

that the Legislative Council will deal with those proposals

conscientiously and our position remains today what it has been

that we do not wish to go further than the people of Hong Kong

wish to go in making these arrangements, but nor do we wish to

go less far than they wish to go.

Hard times or great expectations? Well, I hope that we can

resolve these political problems swiftly. I am sure that we will

/BE ABLE

Page 10Page 11