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23/1
MEETING ON POSSIBLE CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES: GOVERNMENT HOUSE
HONG KONG 13 JANUARY 1975
to Sir D. Whition
?.S. Lord Gorenvy - Roberts,
Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Mr. P. Male
Mr. A. Stuart,
R$ 23/1
Sir Murray MacLehose
Mr. Roberts
Mr. Bray
RECAVEO
N 52
23 JAN 975
HKK 1/6
Lord Goronwy-Roberts explained the political pressures in the United Kingdom for widening the popular base of Government in
Hong Kong. He accepted that direct elections for Legislative Council were not possible. He also agreed with UMELCO that members would have to represent the community as a whole and not
just sectional interests. There was however a need to widen
the reservoir from which suitable people could be drawn. The Urban Council being elective, and the Mutual Aid Committees,
albeit non elective, might feed this reservoir. He had suggested this line of approach to UMELCO but had detected some lack of
enthusiasm:
2.
Going to the second tier of Government, Lord Goronwy- Roberts wondered whether there would be possibilities perhaps
for wider franchise of electors for the Urban Council.
3.
Sir Murray MacLehose said that he understood the value
to the UK of demonstrating wider popular support for the Hong Kong Government. He agreed that all possible sources of natural leaders must be tapped. The Mutual Aid Committees could and
would throw up such leaders, but they must be given time.
Urban Council was already a source of Legislative Council members.
Two present members of LEGCO were also on the Urban Council, and
many others, including Sir Y.K. Kan had been URBCO members in the
past.
4.
The
On the suggestion that the different type of people might be thrown up by widening the elective process in the Urban Council, he commented that in practice the Urban Council members, both
elected and otherwise, came from the same sort of background
CONFIDENTIAL
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