TNAG-1397-FCO40-1869-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1985 — Page 231

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Among the mainland members of the Drafting Committee, those

who had directly participated in the Sino-British talks include Zhou

Nan, Lu Ping, Ke Zaishuo and Shao Tiannen. Ji Pengfei who directed

the talks becomes the chairman of the Drafting Committee while Xu

Jiatun, Li Hou, Yong Longgui, Li Yumin and Jia Shi who were advisers

in the talks become vice-chairman, secretary-general, deputy secretary-

general and members respectively. The above personages have a clear

understanding of every article of the Sino-British Joint Declaration

and of how the two sides came to a compromise on the "one country, two

systems" concept on which the talks centred. They had also shown great

patience and zeal in stabilizing the situation of Hong Kong. This group

of people can ensure that the Basic Law will be in line with the spirit

of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and can satisfactorily solve the

conflicts and queries arising from the "one country, two systems" concept.

Judging simply from the appointment of the 23 Hong Kong members of the

Basic Law Drafting Committee, it can be seen that the cadres responsible

for the formulation and enforcement of the policies of the HKSAR under-

stand the thinking and the wishes of the Hong Kong people and thus will

balance the interest of Hong Kong and that of China during the course

of the Basic Law drafting.

In the membership list of the Drafting Committee, Mao Junnian

is not appointed as member of the Hong Kong side but as deputy secretary-

general in the capacity of a cadre. It seems that Mao Junnian will be

an active figure in carrying out the practical drafting work of the Basic

Law.

This shows that Beijing attaches importance to the expertise of the

Hong Kong people and entrusts them with political faith. For a long time

Mr Mao has been very active in the cultural and educational sectors of

Hong Kong and has a large circle of friends. With his understanding

of the working pattern of capitalism, he is all the more able to listen

to and accept various views. In particular, he will be able to exercise

a greater flexibility and hold an unbiased yardstick in heeding opinions

of the conservatives. It can be said that the appointment of Mao Junnian

as deputy secretary-general is a dramatic action in Beijiang's plan on

Hong Kong. It not only adds to the Basic Law Drafting Committee a tint

of moderatism, but also means that Beijing would substantially adjust

its attitude towards its work on Hong Kong. Beijing would become more

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