TNAG-1440-FCO40-1924-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 228

Rough Translation of a Report

in Wen Wei Po (1.4.1986)

131 March, 1986 Peking]

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HRKO!!!!

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REGISTRY

- 8 APR 1986

DESK OF

INDEX

Vice-Foreign Minister Zhou Nan said today (31.3.86) that the representative government system and the Basic Law should converge. Both the Chinese and British sides wished to see convergence of the two, not only because this was beneficial to Hong Kong people but also because it was to the interest of China and Britain.

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Zhou Nan was speaking in response to requests at the dinner for some NPC and CPPCC delegates from Hong Kong and Macao, held at the Diaoyutai State Guess House tonight.

Zhou Nan said: everybody was concerned about the Basic Law. However, everybody should not worry about this aspect. The framework of the Basic Law was already set out generally in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Basic Law would merely put into

"

substantive and legal language" the principles set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

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Zhou Nan said that some people in Hong Kong would like the Basic Law to be written quicker, while others considered it should be more detailed. would need to see Hong Kong people's views, and this was the function of the [Basic Law] Drafting Committee and Consultative Committee. The rate of progress (in the drafting] of the Basic Law should be determined by the Drafting Committee having regard to the public opinion collected on a wide basis by the Consultative

Committee.

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