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need to receive the assessment report at the latest by early in the week beginning 26 November. Since Hong Kong have calculated that the Assessment Unit will need two weeks to draw up their report, this means that they would have to cease taking evidence on about 9 November. This would leave only 6 weeks for the period of
as sessment in Hong Kong.
6.
Hong Kong consider that this time is too short and is likely to be criticised. They have themselves proposed that the assessment report should be with us by 4 December. Assuming time for Ministers to study it before publication, this will mean that the earliest a debate could be held would be at the end of the week beginning 10
December. This seems to me dangerously late. I understand that Parliament is likely to rise on about 21 December, but the last week, ie that beginning 17 December, will be crowded with adjournment debates etc. Any accident to the timing of the debate would thus make it very difficult to get it in at all.
7. A possible compromise would be to seek to have the debate on 10 or 11 December, ie the Monday or Tuesday of the second week in December. Presumably it would have to take place in both Houses, and if it were this late it would probably have to be on the same day. This is uncomfortably late, but it would leave some leeway if the debate were to be displaced. In this case we could accept the arrival of the assessment reports in London on about 30 November, for publication as early as possible the following week.
8. This would mean that the test of acceptability could run for an
extra week, giving about 7 weeks.
9. I realise that the timing of the debate is not in the Secretary of State's gift, and that we shall have to write to Mr Biffin and the Whips. But I think it would be helpful if the Secretary of
State could consider this now so that we can discuss it with the
Governor before he returns to Hong Kong. I will then submit a draft
letter to Mr Biffin.
Ракавий
A C Galsworthy
Hong Kong Department
19 September 1984
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