TNAG-1354-FCO40-1795-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 88

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established dur ing

facilitate, as I

the next few years which will

said a few moments ago, a smooth

transition from Hong Kong's present status as a British

Dependent Territory to that of a Special Administrative

Region of China.

12.

But I believe that, even without the impulse

of the negotiations on Hong Kong's future, some

future, some form of

more visibly representative government would have had to

come about this decade. Hong Kong is a successful and

energetic community, built on the solid and decent

foundations of the rule of law. The discipline and

obedience to the law which Hong Kong people have come to

expect from their Administration arise from largely

customary and unwritten rules. With increasing

prosperity comes greater social and political maturity

and a natural desire to participate more fully in the

affairs of government. To borrow a cliche from the

legal profession, there is a desire that justice should

not only be done, but that it should be seen to be

done. Under the present system, justice may be done,

governmentally speaking and I certainly would contend

that it is but, in the absence of any visibly and

formally representative institutions, it is not as easy

as it should be to say that justice is seen to be done.