TNAG-1469-FCO40-1998-Visits-by-members-of-the-Office-of-the-Unofficial-Members-of-1986 — Page 50

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CONFIDENTIAL

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CALL ON THE SECRETARY OF STATE BY THE GOVERNOR AND MEMBERS OF THE

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OF HONG KONG, 11 SEPTEMBER 1986

Those Present:

(112)

Secretary of State

Mr Renton

Dr Wilson

Private Secretary

Mr Hum

Mr Layden

Constitutional Development:

1.

The Governor

Unofficial

and

Official

Members of the Executive

Council (list attached)

Direct Elections

_+KK 02615

RECERC

25 SEP 1986

Secretary_of_skate

TAMB 2519

After initial courtesies,

courtesies, the Secretary of State noted that

he would be seeing the Chinese Foreign Minister in New York on

23 September, and in Peking during the State Visit in October. Both meetings would provide opportunities for pursuing HMG's informal dialogue with the Chinese on constitutional development. He invited the visitors to give their views on which subjects he might address.

The Governor observed that it was most important that we should

continue to make progress in developing Chinese understanding of this question over the next 2 years through the channel of informal consultation. Things were moving fast in the Basic Law Drafting Committee. The controversy over Daya Bay had added a new dimension to the question of constitutional development. We had to get the Chinese to keep an open mind about the 1987 Review and its outcome. We therefore had to think of convincing reasons to put to them as to why they should. Some in Hong Kong were losing their enthusiasm for direct elections; some were as committed to them as ever.

2.

Mr Oswald Cheung observed that the Chinese now seemed

reconciled to the fact that HMG and HKG were committed to the 1987

Review: it might, however, be useful for the Secretary of State to remind Wu of this. He thought the Chinese had responded well, even

kindly, to our trilogy of papers on constitutional development,

CONFIDENTIAL