TNAG-1454-FCO40-1976-Hong-Kong-oath-taken-by-members-of-Executive-and-Legislative-1986 — Page 27

sir,

UMELCO

DRAFT SPEECH BY HON HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CBE, JP

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

25.6.86

Oaths and Declarations (Amendment) Bill 1986

I support this Bill which is in keeping with the changing times in which we in Hong Kong now live.

From a pragmatic point of view, the Governor will be able to cast the net wider and appoint Executive Council Members who, while willing to serve, may not want to swear

allegiance to the Queen for different reasons.

No doubt in the case of any such appointment, the uppermost consideration in the Governor's mind could be the overall contribution such individual would make during the transition period towards Hong Kong's stability and prosperity and the strengthening of public confidence in Hong Kong's

future.

As we move more into the transition period and further towards the end of the British colonial era, the burden of responsibility of the person taking the alternative form of

Oath will be even more onerous.

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He or she will have sworn to serve the people of Hong

Kong all 5.5 million of them conscientiously and truly that should be the acid test, particularly if he or she were an

elected member of this Council.

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But above all, his or her supreme responsibility will lie in nurturing and preserving by word and by deed Hong Kong's stability and prosperity and a Hong Kong-style way of life in accordance with the Joint Declaration.

UMELCO