TNAG-0445-FCO40-510-Discussions-with-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 78

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The Governor's preferred solution is the appointment of a few unofficial Chinese representatives as Members within the official machine. The Member system has been a normal constitutional device at certain stages of most British Dependent Territories. The Members act as embryo Cabinet Ministers with departmental responsibilities. This would be made easier in Hong Kong by the recent reform of the Hong Kong secretariat, whereby subjects and departments have been grouped under Secretaries, who are senior civil servants. Again it has been common dependent territory practice for these Secretaries to have unofficial, but appointed, Members inserted above them at an appropriate stage. Elsewhere this has been followed by the election of the Members, leading to a ministerial system and independence. But there is no reason why the process in Hong Kong should not stop short with appointed Members. 5. The underlying question is whether the Chinese population would identify with these Chinese Members and so diminish the gap between governors and governed. The Governor believes that they would; that the gain within Hong Kong would be greater than through direct or indirect elections,

and the dangers less.

6. I think he is right. My only doubt concerns the constitutional arithmetic of the proposal. Under the Royal Instructions of Hong Kong, the Legislative Council is equally balanced between officials and unofficials, with the Governor holding a casting vote. There are five Ex-Officio members (including the Governor) and eight Crown Servants on one side, and thirteen nominated

Unofficial members on the other. If this balance

remained unchanged, but the number of Crown Servants was reduced to allow the suggested four new Members to occupy specially created Ex-Officio seats, then the number of Civil servants on the Council would be reduced to

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