TNAG-1442-FCO40-1926-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 34

ME3AKS

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ISSUES CONNECTED WITH THE QUESTION OF CONVERGENCE

1.

papers.

On 23 May Sir Geoffrey Howe gave to Foreign Minister Wu three

II dealt specifically with the question

further during

convergence,

Paper

and

these issues were discussed

of

the

On

visit of the Governor of Hong Kong to Peking on 1 September.

23 September, Sir Geoffrey Howe told Foreign Minister Wu that the

British side would like to offer further comments on some of the

issues involved. These are contained in the attached notes.

2.

in

The first leads on from paragraph 18 of paper II. it deals

with how the transition might be made between a system in

a system in which the

Governor has responsibility for the direction of the government

Hong Kong to a system under which a Chief Executive would assume responsibility in the Hong Kong SAR on 1 July 1997.

3.

The second paper deals with the relationship between the

executive and the legislature. It describes the advantages of the

working partnership which now exists between the Executive Council and Legislative Council in Hong Kong and the desirability of retaining this partnership in terms of efficient administration and of producing legislation acceptable within the community in Hong Kong. It notes that it is very unlikely that these advantages could survive the complete separation of both the powers and membership of the two councils in any future system.

4.

The third note follows from paragraphs 15 and 16 of paper II. It does not seek to deal with the size of the legislature after 1997 nor with the proportion of seats which might be allocated to various

categories of members. It offers comment on:

(a)

direct

qualification

some practical issues regarding the conduct of elections (electoral machinery, registration,

of candidates, etc); and

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