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Q: After drawing up the blueprint for the future government structure in consultation with Umelco members, China would pass the decision on to the BLDC which would then sound out HK people and draft the relevant provisions of the Basic Law. And Britain would also inform the HK Government of the decision, and the HK Government would also seek the views of HK people and then carry out the administrative reforms accordingly. By doing so, there would not be any conflicts. But this is only a way where the decision is passed down from the top.
If we want to adopt a more open method, i.e., the HK Government would develop the representative system freely, while the BLDC would draw up a set of Basic Law through its own consultative procedure. If this is the case, are there any ways to work out a compromise?
A:
The HK Government cannot develop in its own free way because the British Government is its boss! In the past, the British Government did not intervene in the domestic affairs of the HK Government only because it agreed with the ways the local government handled matters and not because the HK Government had the right to do things in the way it wanted. Similarly, the BLDC comes under the NPC and the decision-making power rests with the NPC.
Q: But would HK people accept such a way where the decision is passed down from the top?
A:
This is not a question of whether HK people would accept it or not. In any country, the final decision is made by the highest council of the country. Members of parliament could seek the views of individual electors in their constituencies, but the final decision would be made by parliament. The BLDC could, of course, consult HK people and do their best to draw up a Basic Law which they think would benefit HK most. But the final say would rest with the NPC. This is still a way where the decision is made at the top.
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It is expected that Peking would see no need to oppose the representative system if it would not harm stability and prosperity
Q: In the past, the Chinese Government had been saying that it would not comment on the representative system and that it was a matter for the British Government. Do you think it would agree with your plan? Why doesn't the Chinese Government let the HK Government do all it could and then preserve its right to choose to recognise the provisions which benefit HK in 1997?
A: Should this be the case, the Basic Law could not be drawn up until 1997. "No comment" was only the case during the initial period. Under normal circumstances, it is inevitable that the two countries will have to discuss how the structure of Exco and Legco should develop during the next three years
that is from 1989 to 1991.
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