TNAG-1721-FCO40-2401-Hong-Kong-1987-Review-of-Representative-Government-delegati-1988 — Page 130

On 5th December 1984, Sir Geoffrey Howe moved for

acceptance by Parliament of the draft Agreement on the basis that

the "aim throughout the negotiations has been to secure an

agreement that would be acceptable to the people of Hong Kong"

(being a point on which "the House would certainly wish to be

satisfied") and that the draft Agreement presaged the

establishment of a

Hong Kong by 1997.

democratic and representative government in

He again dovetailed the Government's

proposals for democratising the existing governmental structure

with the blueprint for the future by saying:

"It would be too much to expect that this document,

which has emerged from extremely complex and sometimes

difficult negotiations, could provide the whole answer

to every problem. In some areas it will be necessary

elaborate the general principles set out in the

to

agreement.

arrangements

Hong Kong

One such area is the constitutional

and government structure of the future

special administrative region. In that

connection I welcome the White Paper on constitutional

development which has just been published by the Hong

Kong Government.

It provides for substantial

development towards representative institutions in the

1985 elections, and for the prospect of further

development in this direction following a further

review in 1987, which will consider also the question

of direct elections. At the same time it rightly

avoids sudden and dramatic changes, which could

unsettle the very stability that all our efforts are

designed to secure. I have already told the House that

we regard the next 12 years as crucial. We shall need

to achieve progress in constitutional development."

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