GINAHS
VISIT OF MR GEORGE
CONFIDENTIAL
WALDEN, MP,
PUSS
DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION AND SCIENCE TO HONG KONG, 23-24 NOVEMBER
GENERAL AND POLITICAL BRIEF ON HONG KONG
A background brief on Hong Kong is attached.
Representative Government
1.
A Hong Kong White Paper on the further development of
representative
proposals
government
endorsed
was
published
Unofficial
in
November
1984 and its
by Hong
Hong Kong's
Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) in
January 1985.
The main proposal was that some Unofficial (i.e
non-civil servant) members
members of LegCo should be elected by specified functional constituencies, and others by members of local government councils and District Boards: and the number of official (ie civil
servant) and appointed
members would be reduced. The
first ever elections to LegCo were held in September 1985, when 24
members, all well known figures experienced in community service,
were elected. A public review of progress towards representative
carried out in 1987.
This review will consider
and composition
government
possible
will
further
be
developments
in
the
method
of
selecting members for Leg Co in 1988 and beyond (including the question of direct elections), possible developments in the powers,
and method of selection of the composition
Executive Council,
and
the position of the Governor in relation to both Executive and
Legislative Councils.
2.
caused
The development of representative government Hong Kong has
to the
that Her Majesty's
some concern
believe Chinese who
to party
that no
Government and the Hong Kong Government may intend to develop a
Westminster-style system which they fear
lead would
asked The Chinese have therefore politics and instability. significant changes take place in Hong Kong's political system until
in 1990 they publish the Basic Law, which under the terms of the Joint Declaration will prescribe Hong Kong's post-1997 political
structure. We have explained to the Chinese that we must proceed
CONFIDENTIAL
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