CONFIDENTIAL
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B 2015. re Ozatio
(1979) Hong Kong Parliamentary Group led by Sir Paul Bryan MP.
On 5 December 1979, Mr Blaker met four members of the Anglo-
Sir Paul
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bile
stressed that on a recent visit to Hong Kong he had been struck by
the increase in pressure for democratic reform. The other members
pressed for a more open mind by the Hong Kong and UK Governments
on the subject.
The Governor's view
6. In his telegram No 1482 of 24 October 1979, the Governor argued
against making any concessions to the Elected Urban Councillors.
His main points (which represent his views on the general question
of greater flexibility on electoral issues) were:
7.
(i) a fully elected Council might be dominated by people
unacceptable to the Chinese;
(ii) even if this did not turn out to be so, any change in
the present system might be regarded by the Chinese as a
move away from the status quo, which they have clearly
stated to be the position which is acceptable to them
for the time being;
(iii) since there can therefore be no significant role for
an electoral system in Hong Kong, it is dishonest and
irrelevant to seek to extend the present system in
insignificant ways;
(iv) any concessions would simply create pressure for further
changes, until the point was reached at which a line
would have to be drawn.
A further argument that is often advanced against more democracy
in Hong Kong is that the great majority of people there are simply
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