TNAG-1330-FCO40-1757-Future-of-Hong-Kong-test-of-the-acceptability-of-the-Joint-D-1984 — Page 167

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4. The Commissioner envisages a similar format for the report

assessing the acceptability of the agreement to the people of Hong Kong. The report will of course have the major responses from

influential organisations etc appended to it. However, given the

difference in subject matter between

between the Green Paper and the

agreement, it is difficult to make a comparison; although it might

follow the same format, the very content of it and the fact that one

essential element (i.e. the overall acceptability of the agreement)

needs to be brought out, might make it look very different. I am

therefore doubtful about the use of the attached report as a

precedent.

5.

I have the following comments on the chapters of the report;

CHAPTER 1 gives a summary of the main proposals in the Green Paper.

I think that it would be most unwise, as well as unnecessary, to

include a summary of the agreement in the report on acceptability.

The proposals are already well known, and stand for themselves.

CHAPTER 2 gives a summary of the public response to the agreement (e.g. how many submissions were received; how many were anonymous,

irrelevant etc). The collating and assessing of the comments on

the acceptability of the agreement will be done on the same basis as

for the Green Paper, i.e. submissions will be classified by source into five broad categories (see para 2.2 of attached report). The

trends of submission by major sources are clearly shown by a graph; this is useful and should be included in the report on

acceptability.

CHAPTER 3 gives a summary of comment on the main issues in the Green

Paper. I am not sure whether it will be possible to break down

comment in the agreement in quite the same way. But comments on the

main substantive issues will clearly need to be included. They should not however be the main focus of the report. The emphasis must be given to answering the question on the overall acceptability

of the agreement to the people of Hong Kong, since this is the main

purpose of the report.

CHAPTER 4 contains a summary.

This will be crucial since the press,

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