TNAG-1434-FCO40-1917-Hong-Kong-leading-personality-Sir-Yue-Kong-Pao--businessman-1986 — Page 294

Background

CONFIDENTIAL

1.

Following introduction of

indirect

elections

for

the Hong

Kong Legislative Council last September, a review of progress

towards representative government will be carried out by the Hong

Kong Government in 1987.

to

1987

2.

In April of last year, Sir Y K Pao expressed the view to Sir

Percy Cradock that movement towards representative government in

Hong Kong was too fast: he indicated that this was the Chinese view.

Chinese concerns have focussed particularly upon the 1987 review, which will include the question of whether direct elections should

be introduced in 1988 to choose some of the Legislative Council's

members. The Chinese are concerned that this review is an attempt

by HMG to introduce far-reaching "democratic reforms"! and thus

preempt the constitutional arrangements which they are to draft for the territory, to be published in their draft Basic Law in 1988. We

have been at pains to explain to the Chinese that we are committed

to the 1987 review; but that we have no prearranged scheme to

preempt the Basic Law as they fear; and that Our intention i s

maintain a dialogue with

them as the likely outcome of the

review emerges in order to ensure as far as possible that this

"converges" with the plans that they are now formulating in their

draft Basic Law. The Chinese have been somewhat reassured by

dialogue, but some of them rema in suspicious of Our long term

intentions on constitutional development. And we have had little indication of their thinking in this area (though Lu Ping told Sir W Harding over dinner in Peking earlier this month that he thought it

would be acceptable to the Chiense if a quarter of LegCo members directly elected). Sir Y K may raise these continuing Chinese

concerns wi th the Secretary of State. It would in any case be

useful if he were to take the message to his contacts in Peking that

the British are indeed acting in good faith over representative government, have no plan to install a system in Hong Kong which will

either create instability ог entrench pro-British and anti-Chinese

elements in power there, are concerned rather to respond to the

wishes of Hong Kong people SO as to preserve stability and

prosperity, and would welcome more indiciations of Chinese thinking

were

so as to ensure convergence.

this

CONFIDENTIAL