TNAG-1438-FCO40-1922-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 126

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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Hong Kong's future po.itical system will be determined by

the Basic Law, not constitutional reforms. The system of representative

government was drawn up by the British on the basis of their past experience in decolonization. The Legislative Council Powers and

Privileges Bill 1985, for example, had borrowed certain provisions

from legislation in Kenya, a former British colony in Africa, and

many of the wordings in the Bill are obsolete and outdated. The

British have produced a vintage car and asked Hongkong people to ride

in it. But the car's record shows it to be trouble-prone and

dangerous. If such is the case, why not learn from the merits of

other governments and the unfavourable experience of Britain's

former colonies so as to design a modern car for Hongkong people

which is suited to the territory's own circumstances? Of course, the

sketch for this car cannot be completed within a short time, but one

can surely arrive at a draft sketch as regards the car's design

and functions by 1987.

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