TNAG-0526-FCO40-621-Office-meetings-on-Hong-Kong-affairs-papers-1975 — Page 11

SECAE

香港總督府

De

Andrews,

A

* 2.

GOVERNNEL

HONG KU

10th December 1974

E

C/E/vii

CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN HONG KONG

Many thanks for your letter of 6th

November about the reference in Dr. Chung's speech to membership of Legislative Council. I attach the relevant extract from Hansard.

This was completely unexpected.

It was

an extraordinary thing for a senior member to broach so delicate a subject as the Constitution without prior consultation with the Governor. When I spoke to Dr. Chung afterwards it was apparent that his discussions even with his own colleagues had been perfunctory and he had not mentioned it at all to his unofficial colleagues in Ex. Co. The latter were of course equally

*

involved.

3.

So far as I can discover the original discussion amongst unofficial members of Leg. Co. turned on the burden of work they now had and the need for more members in order to spread the load. There was then some short and inconclusive discussion of whether it would help to get more members if they could be offered some remuneration, and while no one opposed this proposition it was equally clear that members had given it little thought.

4.

However the widening of the type of member- ship in order to include persons who could speak for the work force - and I think this is the passage in which you are particularly interested - was not discussed at all beforehand, and was not therefore, as he implied it was, the unanimous view of Unofficials.

5.

Moreover it has become apparent that Dr. Chung had not thought out this proposal himself.

When

I put to him the difficulty of appointing either communist

or Kuoningtang trades unionists, he said this had not occurred to him. Nor had he thought of the confidentiality of UMELCO papers;

far less of the need to retain a cohesive

team. He claimed he was only throwing out the idea and did not see that it need necessarily result in any immediate

A.C. Stuart Esq.,

Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept. Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

SECRET

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