TNAG-1469-FCO40-1998-Visits-by-members-of-the-Office-of-the-Unofficial-Members-of-1986 — Page 47

शिव

wil. P.A.B. Thomson

تاکی

HKK026/

RE

25 SEP 1986

kon

AJB 2016

CONFIDENTIAL

Sehing (Personal)

Bym,

Mr Hum, HKD

From: P J Westmacott Date: 10 September 1986

CC: PS

PS/PUS

Dr Wilson

113

Naga

& L 15/4 CM 1/4 PA Exlo visit.

MR RENTON'S MEETING WITH GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG

1. Mr Renton had a short meeting with the Governor on September, after the lunch he gave for EXCO members.

2. Reporting on his recent visit to Peking, the Governor said that it was clear to him that the Chinese had done a great deal of thinking about constitutional development, largely stimulated by our trilogy of papers. So far, however, their thinking seemed to have taken little account of political realities in Hong Kong.

3. The drafting of the Basic Law, the Governor continued, was now dealing with a number of very

substantial issues, most of which had not been dealt with in detail in the Joint Declaration. All were potentially explosive in Hong Kong. The issues included:

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relations between the Governments of the PRC and the SAR. A particularly sensitive issue was the independence of the judiciary. Who would have the final say a Court of Appeal in Hong Kong or the Central Government? If the latter, this would be interpreted as an erosion of the principles of the Joint Declaration. (At this afternoon's meeting with the Prime Minister, Maria Tam raised this point. The Prime Minister grasped it firmly, volunteering that she would be ready to speak to Deng Xiao Ping if necessary.)

whether the proportion of LEGCO seats which were to be elected should be specified in the Basic Law. It would be difficult to explain in Hong Kong that the figure should be unchangeable for 60 years, which would be the effect of including it in the Basic Law.

Current

how to choose the Chief Executive. Chinese thinking seemed to favour his appointment before

CONFIDENTIAL