7386 D073815 140M 5/74 Cr.P.C. Gp.839/3
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for mobilising this through democratic representative institutions is precluded in the case of Hong Kong. China's opposition to the development of such
institutions which could affect their claim to
sovereignty and could lead to growth of KMT influence in the Colony is well understood by the local population.
15. In these circumstances, the machinery of Government is developing on unique lines. The present Governor's intention is to produce a more obviously local and less obviously alien government allowing public participation at all levels designed to create cohesion and a sense of local identity based upon civic pride. He has increased the number of Advisory Boards which provide an opportunity for those outside government to make their views known on a wide variety of topics; and has sought to widen representation on
them. He also initiated the system of Mutual Aid Committees in the urban settlement estates designed originally to combat crime but subsequently adapted as a link between the population at large and Government. His plans for further institutional development follow four principal lines of approach:
(a) increasing contacts between the local institutions including the Mutual Aid Committees and local representatives of the central Government;
(b) drawing Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council from a wider social background generally and in particular by appointing community leaders identified from the local institutions mentioned at (a) above;
(c) appointing, in due course, "Ministers" (care will be needed to find a term to take into account Chinese sensitivities) for major Government Departments from among the Unofficial Members of the Legislative Council; and
(d) localising the Civil Service as much as possible bearing in mind the need to maintain a proportion of expatriates to exemplify the continuance of the colonial link.
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