TNAG-1439-FCO40-1923-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 22

HKR 011!! RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

- 3 APR 1986

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

Mr

Lijam, தன்

SECRET

El sand. 6 (th Ёл

се

FROM: PAUL FIFOOT

DEPUTY LEGAL ADVISER

Cre

PA

HISTRY

Action Taken

DATE : 1 April 1986

AJB3/4.

cc: Dr Wilson

Mr Leeks Mr Wood

HONG KONG TELNOS 938 AND 939 : REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT

1.

(178)

I mentioned to you on 27 March that the statement of the position of the Executive in Hong Kong telno 938 was worse than the corresponding statement in Hong Kong telno 849. You said that you would ensure that Private Office inserted the word "largely" before the word "agreed" in the first line of para 14 of your

submission to the Secretary of State.

2. I have now had an opportunity of reading these two new telegrams and can elaborate on my earlier comment and add some others.

3. It is just not true that "the present Executive in Hong Kong is the Executive Council" (see para 12). The Executive is as described in the second substantive para of my minute of 25 March to Mr Leeks. And Hong Kong says this themselves: see Hong Kong 1986 (the glossy book reviewing 1985, at pages 23 and 24.) There under a black letter heading "The Executive" is a description of the roles of the Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary and the Director of Audit and a description of the "structure of the Executive" which includes the following passage: "the Executive of the Hong Kong Government is organised into branches and departments. The branches collectively form the Government Secretariat.

4.

11

I can understand that Hong Kong wishes to emphasise in its paper the role of the Executive Council, but I do not think its aim is achieved by misrepresenting the position. A more exact description would indicate the true extent of the Executive and could describe the Executive Council as the principal policy body of the Executive. In a way logic would also suggest that paras 19 and 20 and parts of para 18 should also fall under the rubric "the Executive". Incidentally, with regard to para 20 I have always assumed that the passage: "The Executive authorities shall abide by the law and shall be accountable to the Legislature" was primarily aimed at the administrative authorities which enjoyed executive powers.

5.

On minor points on this paper:-

i) there is a pure drafting point in para 4 in that "and elaborated" is a different formulation from "and the elaboration of them" in para 3(12) of the Joint Declaration;

SECRET

/ii)...