TNAG-0268-FCO40-304-Petitions-from-rural-consultative-council-of-new-territories-1970 — Page 4

has been. See

Sir L. Monson (...)

0/71

Darector of

Social Welfare

I am not at all happy with the recommendations made in the attached submission about representations by Heung Yee Kuk I note that similar representations have been made in 1968 and 1969 and it is now proposed to reply saying exactly the same thing as has been said before. As I see the situation our problem in Hong Kong is that there is no way of constitu- tional advance. At the same time it should be our objective where the local people show interest in the machinery of Government to enable them to participate to as great an extent as is possible. This does not necessarily mean through elections but by using the Governor's power of nomination to various bodies in order to ensure that the widest possible sweep of public opinion is represented. What the Kuk are asking for is two things:

2.

(a) that the D.C.N.T. should be one of the official

members of the Executive Council (he is already a member of the Legislative Council, though not ex_officio);

(b)

and

that amongst the members of the Executive and Legislative Councils there should be someone who

is a member of the Kuk.

Although the Department (and the Governor) defend themselves against the first point by saying that the D.C.N.T. is always called in when matters affecting the New Territories are discussed at EXCO,I must admit myself to seeing considerable force in the Kuk's demand. D.C.N.T. is in effect the ruler of a very large part of Hong Kong and, while I agree that it is not desirable that geographical entities should be represented as such, I am not certain that D.C.N.T. is not in a special position. There is always one official on EXCO in addition to the ex officio members. At the moment I believe it is the Director of Public Works. I am not certain that there would not be more sense in making it the D.C.N.T. and this would have the merit of at least meeting one of the Kuk's points.

3. As regards their point (b) this is more difficult. I quite understand that there is opposition already to the idea that the Urban Council should nominate one of their members to be the Urban Council's representative on the Legislative Council. The same objection could apply to the Kuk being permitted to nominate a member of the Legislative Council (or to EXCO, though I would not regard that as a very serious demand), but surely it still remains within the Governor's powers to nominate somebody who happens to be a member of either the Urban Council or Kuk as a

/member

LAST PAPER давро