GF. 316
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Issues Connected with the Question of Convergence
On 23rd May, Sir Geoffrey Howe gave three papers to Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian. Paper II dealt specifically with the question of convergence, and these issues were discussed further during the visit of the Governor of Hong Kong to Peking on 1st September. On 23rd September, Sir Geoffrey Howe told Foreign Minister Wu Xueqian that the British side would like to offer further comments on some of the issues involved. These are contained in the attached notes.
2.
The first note 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 be retained if there were a complete separation of the membership of the two Councils in any future system.
3.
The second 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 comments on possible arrangements for seats now occupied in the Legislative Council by Official and appointed members (paragraph 17 of Paper II).
4.
The third note touches on some important, but complex, legal issues arising from the drafting of the Basic Law, which are of concern to people in Hong Kong. It suggests that they might be discussed further by legal experts.
5.
In connection with paragraph 3 above, the British side have noted Mr. Li Hou's comment to the Governor that it would be better for the Basic Law to specify the proportion of seats which would be allocated to the members produced by different methods. It is true that this would remove any uncertainty about what the system in the SAR after 1997 would be: the disadvantage would be that the system would be inflexible and could not be modified without an amendment to the Basic Law itself. Hong Kong is a developing and changing society and the system of Government has been modified from time to time in order to remain responsive to these changes and
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