Lag A
ag B
Lag C
ag D
ag D
Mr Male
Ps/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
MP'S LETTER:
IMMIGRANTS
1.
RETURN FROM HONG KONG TO CHINA OF CHINESE ILLEGAL
Mr Kenneth Clarke MP (Conservative, Rushcliffe) has written to Mr Ennals about the arrangements in Hong Kong for the return of Chinese illegal immigrants, enclosing a circular letter he received on the matter from Taiwan. Copies of the same circular have previously been forwarded to Ministers by three other MPs.
2.
Mr Clarke's concern about the treatment of illegal immigrants after they are returned to China may have been inspired by the Daily Telegraph article of 15 January. H M Embassy Peking found no evidence that those reported to have been paraded through the streets of Canton were illegal immigrants returned from Hong Kong (Peking telno. 40); and the Political Adviser was assured by members of the New China News Agency on 27 January that those returned are not unduly harshly treated (para. 6 of his letter of 30 January, and para. 15 of the attached Record). There is one report (para. 14 of the Hong Kong Government's "Summary of Information Obtained from Travellers at Lowu" dated 24 January) of rumours that repatriated emigrants are often assaulted. This could be true;
but we have no evidence to corroborate such rumours, and it seems equally possible that they are being deliberately spread to dissuade other prospective emigrants.
3.
I recommend that Lord Goronwy-Roberts should write to Mr Clarke on the lines of the attached draft. Far Eastern Dept.
agree.
26 February 1975
PL O'Keeffe
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept.
P
P
DECRET
HELVI
Flag D
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
1,
The latest formal proposal by the Governor is that some Unofficials should be appointed to be in charge of groups of departments (Despatch of 30 May). The idea behind this proposed introduction of the so-called "Member system" was that local Hong Kong Chinese should be seen to be acting in positions of authority. The Governor thought that this would satisfy the local demands for greater participation in Government.
2. Although Lord Goronwy-Roberts agreed with this in principle, subject to further elaboration, we have had some doubts about whether the proposal might not look in London like a further consolidation of the power of the Hong Kong business
establishment.
3.
Meanwhile, however, one of the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council, Dr S Y Chung, suggested in the Council on 30 October that LegCo's Unofficial Members should be increased from 15 to 20 and that the new Members should be drawn from a wider section of the community. In reply the Colonial Secretary did not reject Dr Chung's proposals, but he said that any changes to Hong Kong's Constitution could only be effected through consultation with London.
1.
There are three possible drawbacks to changes on the lines suggested by Dr Chung. Particularly if any form of elections for the new seats was introduced, the proposals might look to the Chinese like a step towards self-government and independence. This would have to be carefully handled with the Chinese. We could not appear to be consulting them; but we would need to be sure that they understood the proposal and did not regard it as
a threat.
5.
Secondly, the introduction of new Unofficial Members could upset the constitutional arithmetic by which the Governor has, in
/the last
9
P
P
SECRET
|
Flag E
the last resort, the power to rule through the Official majority in the Legislative Council. It might be necessary to avoid this either by the provision of a balancing number of Officials, or by introducing a different sort of Constitution with reserve powers for the Governor. The latter might, of itself raise the suspicions of the Chinese, since it has in the past been seen as a step on the road to responsible government.
A
Thirdly, the Unofficial Members of Legislative and Executive Councils in Hong Kong (UMLICO) act as an informal cabinet towards the Governor. This is a healthy situation, but it presupposes some coherence of view among the members. larger Unofficial membership with perhaps differing methods of selection or election might lead to greater divisions within the group. This would be particularly true and particularly undesirable if some of the Members regarded themselves as representing Peking and some Taiwan. It could also raise problems of the security of official papers.
7. The Governor has now written to the Department about Dr Chung's 'intervention and the reactions to it. It seems that his ideas were not cleared with his Unofficial colleagues, and that, in particular they do not agree with his suggestion of representation for particular groups. But they would clearly favour a review of the membership.
8.
The Governor's own view is that new candidates for membership of Council are only just beginning to emerge. From the Hong Kong point of view he would therefore favour waiting. is also inclined to advise that this is not yet the right moment to introduce the Member system. However, he recognises that there may be pressure in the UK for faster progress.
9.
He
After talking the problems and opportunities over with the Governor, Lord Goronwy-Roberts may consider that a decision should come after his own visit to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept. 13 Decembar 19746
$
DECRET
10
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.