TNAG-1392-FCO40-1864-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-for-meetings-and-visits-1985 — Page 83

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indirect. 24 members, out of

new Council of 56,

electoral college of

were chosen, 12 of them by an

District Board, Urban Council and Regional Council

(ie local government level) members and 12 by

functional constituencies representing the main

professional, commercial and other groups.

The

remaining 32 members continue to be appointed by the

Governor.

The elections were keenly contested and

attracted encouraging interest among the Hong Kong

public and media.

8.

A review of progress

Government will be

this year,

towards representative

carried out in 1987. In April of

Sir Y K Pao expressed, quite forcefully,

to Sir Percy Cradock the view that movement towards

representative government in Hong Kong was too fast:

he indicated that this was the Chinese view. We

have received similar expressions of concern from

unofficial sources.

aimed less

at

the Chinese Government through a variety of

However, this appears to be

the electoral process to be

inaugurated on 26 September than as an early warning

of Chinese views in anticipation of the Hong Kong

Government's review in 1987.

NATIONAL I TY

9.

At the time of the signature of the Joint

Declaration we exchanged Memoranda with the Chinese

on nationality. Under this exchange we agreed that

Hong Kong people would lost British Dependent

Territories citizenship on 1 July 1997 but would

retain a form of British nationality for one

generation which would not be transmissible to their

children.

The Hong Kong

legislate to implement this Memorandum and to

create a new nationality status known as British

National (Overseas) through an Order in Council.

This Order in Council has now been drafted and will

be introduced to Parliament in early December.

Act enables us

to

We

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