TNAG-1719-FCO40-2399-Hong-Kong-1987-Review-of-Representative-Government-1988 — Page 150

the substantial restructuring of the Legislative Council

which took place in in 1985 when 24 indirectly elected

members were introduced. And it is important to

remember that our aim is to create not a temporary

structure, but a system that will continue after the

transfer of sovereignty in 1997.

On emigration, the Hong Kong Government does not

maintain

records of people who leave Hong Kong and

subsequently return. The point is that the population

of Hong Kong has always been a particularly mobile

one, and the movement of people works both ways.

aim, as stated in my letter of 4 February, is to

ensure that Hong Kong remains an environment in which

people will want to make their lives.

Our

Progress on the drafting of the Basic Law has already

featured in a number of exchanges between the British and

Chinese sides on the implementation of the Joint

Declaration. The Joint Declaration itself provides that

the functions of the Joint Liaison Group shall be inter

alia "to discuss matters relating to the smooth transfer

There will be adequate of government in 1997".

opportunity for the British side to satisfy itself that

the eventual provisions of the Basic Law fully and

accurately reflect the Joint Declaration.

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