CONFIDENTIAL
7. On the second of Mr Stewart's points, the Governor does make a number of proposals that would lead to greater participation. In the Section on "Home Affairs" he suggests the continued expansion of Mutual Aid Committees and the development of the dialogue between the Government and the population through the District and Area Committees. In the Section on the New Territories he suggests that the Heung Yee Kuk should be maintained as the statutory adviser of the Government on the interests of the New Territories, though envisaging a decline in their power and influence as District Advisory Boards develop. The Governor also suggests, in his Section on "Institutions" that UMELCO should develop its ombudsman role and that the Urban Council should be maintained and supported, though he sees no case for expanding its sphere of activity.
8.
Another important aspect of this problem is the need to introduce more local Chinese people into the higher echelons of the public service. The Government are committed to this, as was clearly reaffirmed by the new Secretary for the Civil Service in a major speech in March. But there need to be more positive signs that the policy is being put into practice.
9.
But all these suggestions amount to little more than tinkering at the edges, and it will be necessary to look for a more fundamental solution to this problem, in the context of a thorough review of our policies and objectives, bearing in mind what we know about Chinese policies and attitudes, and the need to reach a workable solution to the problem of the lease. Hitherto the assumption has been that the Chinese Government would not welcome any changes that gave the general population of Hong Kong more say in the way their country was run. But it is possible that, with the recent firm commitment of the Chinese to a policy of supporting the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, they can now be
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