TNAG-0572-FCO40-705-Monitoring-of-progress-made-on-planning-paper-on-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 77

Mr Male

Mr Cortazzi

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HONG KONG: THE PLANNING PAPER

FUTURE ACTION

Paragraphs 33 and 34 of the Planning Paper on Hong Kong, which has now been approved by Ministers, provides for consultation on and monitoring of the programme set out in the Paper. In general' a more interventionist line by the British Government in Hong Kong

affairs is envisaged.

1. I have had some talks with the Governor of Hong Kong about the monitoring process and have promised him that I shall go to Hong Kong at the beginning of October with proposals for preliminary discussion. I propose, subject to your approval, to draw up a programme for discussion with Sir M MacLehose. I hope to write to the Governor at about the middle of September so that he will have advance knowledge of our ideas and be ready to discuss them when I visit Hong Kong. Some of these suggestions, e.g. that for a Standing Committee in the Office, are not, of course, the business of the Hong Kong Government; nevertheless, I believe that the more frank we can be with them, the more likely we are to achieve a positive result.

2. I suggest that the monitoring process should be based on a check list or series of lists of progress made in implementing the summary of recommendations contained in paragraph 23 of Annex C to the Planning Paper and the current programmes of the Hong Kong

In the case of measures Government set out in Annex D to the Paper. requiring legislative action, the list would be so developed as to enable us to keep track of the various steps involved, i.e. internal consideration with the Hong Kong Government department concerned; publication of proposals in the form of Green Papers, White Papers, etc; submission to and consideration in the Executive Council; passage through the Legislative Council; date for the introduction of the measures, etc. etc. Measures not requiring legislative authority, e.g. the housing programmes, would be monitored on the basis of the extent to which agreed targets were being met on a

CONFIDENTIAL