TNAG-1718-FCO40-2398-Hong-Kong-1987-Review-of-Representative-Government-1988 — Page 127

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CONVERGENCE OF GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE: ARTICLE BY KOO SHING-FAI IN

MIRROR MAGAZINE (FEBRUARY ISSUE).

THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF THE MIRROR MAGAZINE PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE

UNDER THE BY-LINE OF KOO SHING-FAI WHICH PURPORTED TO REVEAL THE

BRITISH GAMEPLAN ON THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE

GOVERNMENT IN HK AND THE CHINESE COUNTER MOVES. POINTS OF INTEREST

ARE SUMMARISED BELOW. FULL TEXT AND TRANSLATION OF THE ARTICLE WILL

BE FAXED TO YOU.

2. MAIN POINTS OF THE MIRROR ARTICLE ARE AS FOLLOWS:

(A) S OF S SAID AT THE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE THAT A TIMETABLE SHOULD

BE SECURED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IN HK. THE

OBJECTIVE OF THE BRITISH DID NOT STOP SHORT AT THE INTRODUCTION

OF DIRECT ELECTIONS TO LEGCO IN 1991. THEY AIMED AT PRESSURISING

BEIJING TO FORMULATE BEFORE 1997 A MUTUALLY ACCEPTABLE ''THOUGH-

TRAIN 11 PROPOSAL. ALTHOUGH SUCH A PROPOSAL WOULD HAVE TO BE

PRESCRIBED IN THE BL, THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD SEEK INVOLVEMENT IN THE

DRAFTING OF THE RELEVANT BL ARTICLE. THE BRITISH HAD DEMONSTRATED

THEIR SINCERITY IN COOPERATING WITH THE CHINESE BY NOT

INTRODUCING DIRECT ELECTIONS IN 1988 AND BY SUPPRESSING DEMANDS

FOR RADICAL POLITICAL CHANGES. BEIJING WOULD BE EXPECTED TO

RECIPROCATE BY COLLABORATING WITH THE BRITISH IN WORKING OUT A

POST-1997 POLITICAL STRUCTURE AND IN IDENTIFYING A GROUP OF POLITICAL

FIGURES WHO COULD REMAIN IN POST NOT WITHSTANDING THE CHANGE OF

SOVEREIGNTY.

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(B) MUCH ''BARGAINING' ACTIVITIES, WHICH WERE WROUGHT WITH DIFFICULTIES, WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THE NEXT THREE MONTHS THROUGH VARIOUS APPROPRIATE CHANNELS INCLUDING THE JLG, THE MEETING BETWEEN

SIR GEOFFREY HOWE AND WU XUEQIAN, AND HKG/NCNA CONTACTS. THE BRITISH HAD TAKEN THE INITIATIVE TO REVEAL WHAT WOULD BE DISCUSSED AT WU

XUEQIAN'S COMING VISIT TO THE UK. THIS WAS IN KEEPING WITH THE

JD PROVISION THAT ''MATTERS ON WHICH THERE IS DISAGREEMENT IN THE

JLG SHALL BE REFERRED TO THE TWO GOVERNMENTS FOR SOLUTION THROUGH

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