TNAG-1283-FCO40-1635-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 52

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4. THE POINT WAS ALSO MADE THAT PARA 11 AS DRAFTED COULD BE

INTERPRETED AS AN INDICATION THAT THERE WOULD NO LONGER BE

ANY OFFICIAL MEMBERSHIP OF THE TWO COUNCILS, PARTICULARLY AS

THERE IS NO EXPLICIT REFERENCE TO THIS ELSEWHERE IN THE WORK ING

PAPER. AFTER SOME DISCUSSION IT WAS PROPOSED THAT PARAGRAPH 11

SHOULD BE AMENDED TO BEGIN APART FROM ANY PUBLIC OFFICERS,

MEMBERSHIP OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ...". WITH THE EXCEPTION

WHO ASKED THAT HIS POSITION BE RECORDED, ALL

OF

MEMBERS AGREED WITH THIS FORMULATION.

5. MEMBERS TOOK THE VIEW THAT IT WOULD BE WRONG TO SINGLE OUT

THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT AND THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST

CORRUPTION FOR SPECIAL MENTION IN THE PAPER: THERE WERE OTHER

OFFICIALS WHOSE INDEPENDENCE WERE MORE IMPORTANT (E.G. THE F.S.

AND A.G.} WHOSE ROLES HAD NOT BEEN SINGLED OUT. THERE WAS GENERAL

AGREEMENT THAT PARA 18 SHOULD BE OMITTED AND THAT THE POINT

SHOULD BE COVERED IN DISCUSSION.

6. FOR CONVENIENCE MIFT LISTS THE AMENDMENTS PROPOSED.

7. THE COUNCIL ALSO DISCUSSED THE POINTS FOR INCLUSION IN AN

INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT IN MY TELNO 364, TO WHICH YOU AGREED IN YOUR TELNO 269. IN PUTTING THIS TEXT TO MEMBERS I INCORPORATED

THE FIRST TWO AMENDMENTS SUGGESTED IN PARA 1 OF PEKING TELNO 250

AND GAVE THE THIRD AS AN ALTERNATIVE FORMULATION. MEMBERS PREFERRED THIS LATTER BUT SUGGESTED THAT THE ORDER OF THE SENTENCES SHOULD

BE REVERSED SO THAT POINT 5 WOULD READ "IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE

CHINESE GOVERNMENT WOULD DECLARE THAT ONLY ARTICLE 31 OF THE

CHINESE CONSTITUTION AND THE BASIC LAW ENACTED UNDER IT WOULD APPLY

IN HONG KONG. THIS IS BECAUSE CERTAIN GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE

CHINESE CONSTITUTION ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE SYSTEMS WHICH THE

BASIC LAW FOR THE FUTURE HONG KONG SAR WOULD BE DESIGNED TO

PRESERVE.

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18.