TNAG-1440-FCO40-1924-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 104

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(b)

paragraph 4 of the Joint Declaration, which states that, during the transitional period, the Government of the United Kingdom will be responsible

for the administration of Hong Kong with the object

of maintaining and preserving its economic

prosperity and social stability: and that the Government of the PRC will give its cooperation in

this connection.

6.

Taking each element of government in turn (the Chief Executive/the Executive/the Legislature) the following issues will arise in achieving convergence.

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE

7.

The Governor and Senior Officials are at present

appointed by HMG. According to Annex 1 to the Joint

Declaration the Chief Executive must be selected "by

election or consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government". In public discussion in

Hong Kong a number of possible methods of achieving this

has been suggested, including:

(a)

by

qualified

contested direct election among all

the

candidates on that basis of universal suffrage;

(b) by election among members of the Legislature,

if necessary after consultation among them, on a short list of eligible candidates from within or outside the legislature;

(c)

by consultation, followed if necessary by

election, by some other electoral college to provide

for a wider basis of the election (referred to below as

the Consultative College). There is a number of

possible methods of achieving selection on this

basis, including a college composed of current members of the Executive and the Legislature: former

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