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paragraph 4 above) to impose solutions from Whitehall; or of the Governor imposing solutions without the consent of the Councils. Either could lead to a constitutional confrontation in Hong Kong which could impede the implementation of the desired reforms. Equally, however, Parliament here will need to be convinced that the Councils, when tendering advice on the practicability of particular aspects of a reform programme, are genuinely representative of Hong Kong opinion. It follows that institutional change is the key to the harmonious development of Hong Kong as an urban industrial society.
20.
The first priority is thus in our view the extension of the policies of institutional change being developed by the present Governor The consolidation of the system of Mutual Aid Committees; the promotion of natural leaders emerging at this level to the Legislative, and later the Executive, Council should thus be accelerated and thought given now to the next stage of institutional reform. Further expansion of the Legislative Council (a figure of 50 would be more commensurate with the ratio of MPs to the population in the UK) may need to be considered. Such a move might be necessary to enable LegCo to deal with the increasing sophistication of Government and to permit the appointment of responsible "Members" drawn from the Executive Council but answerable in the Legislative Council for the decisions of Exco in particular. There is a case for considering greater differentiation between ExCo and LegCo with less emphasis on the executive functions of the latter aimed at producing more public discussion of Government policies on LegCo.
21. The advantages and disadvantages of separating the functions of the Executive and Legislative Councils will need to be carefully considered. The Governor is anxious to maintain the close working relationship existing between the Unofficials in both bodies, and between the Unofficials as a whole and Officials. On the other hand, without differentiation of function, important decisions can be, and are, settled behind the scenes and without public discussion and debate. A further risk is that a Legislative Council so constituted could find itself at odds with Whitehall (eg over the death penalty) thus increasing the difficulties of the Governor. And finally, there is the question of whether the expansion should entail the loss of the Official majority which will not only increase the difficulties of governing Hong Kong but may also be objectionable to Peking. On balance, it is
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