TNAG-1397-FCO40-1869-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Basic-Law-1985 — Page 95

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to the Consultative Committee. In reply, XU Jiatun said the

composition of the Consultative Committee would show consideration á for the fact that Hong Kong was a capitalist society. Who can

say that such consideration does not smack of the sharing of political benefits?

H

Moreover, the Consultative Committee should be a body

made up purely of members of the public. According to JI Pengfei, the Consultative Committee and the Drafting Committee "are on equal footing". However, as the Consultative Committee is to be set up

by the Hong Kong members of the Drafting Committee, with the assistance of New China News Agency, the public will be sensitive to any action taken by the Beijing-appointed Hong Kong members of the Drafting Committee, which is regarded as having ignored public

opinion or as signs of intervention and monopolization, as well as to the enthusiastic "guidance" and "assistance" of China's official agencies in Hong Kong, in the course of setting up the Consultative

Committee.

:

How the Consultative Committee is set up and how it will

operate have been regarded as a preview and touchstone of future

self-rule in Hong Kong. It is not difficult to imagine how the

locals will estimate future self-rule when they find that the

setting up of the Consultative Committee is too much in the "Beijing style" or when the development of events gives people an impression that the "Beijing" approach is being taken without

reserve in every instance.