Dear Charlos
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SECRET
We W 191 REEN 1911
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
18 January 1988
HURB 011/1
2 JAN 199
Hong Kong: Representative Government
Thank you for your letter of 11 January confirming that the Prime Minister is content with the Foreign Secretary's proposals on direct elections to the Legislative Council in Hong Kong. They are included in the enclosed complete draft text of the White Paper, which the Foreign Secretary's minute of 6 January said would be circulated in due course.
Apart from the decisions on direct elections, the draft embodies the following decisions on relatively minor residual matters:
(a) Composition of the Legislative Council
There will be no changes this year in the overall size of the council, which now comprises 57 members. There will continue to be ten official members. number of appointed members will be reduced from 22 to 20. The number of members elected from functional constituencies will be increased from 12 to 14. There will continue to be 12 members elected on a geographical basis by the electoral college.
(b) The District Boards and Municipal Councils
(i) There will be no change in the role and composition of the District Boards. However, their advisory role will be developed by requiring government departments to consult the Boards on all district matters. The Boards will also be provided with additional resources.
(ii) Links between the District Boards in urban areas and the Urban Council will be strengthened. In March 1989, each of the ten Urban District Boards will elect a representative to sit on the Urban Council. As a result the size of the Urban Council will be increased from 30 to 40 members in 1989. Urban Councillors will then cease to be ex-officio members of the Urban District Boards. This will bring arrangements for District Board representation on the Urban Council in line with arrangements for the Regional Council.
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