TNAG-1726-FCO40-2439-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 48

FCO40 Hong Kong Department Records 聯邦事務部香港部檔案 All

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int

agreed to

to strike out that democratic model from the

tentative draft of the Basic Law. And if that

is so, then the consultation of the people of Hong Kong on that draft would be mere window-dressing.

Sir, whichever way you look at

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it then, the proposal in relation to the introduction of ten directly elected seats to replace the ter 10 presently indirectly elected seats, via the pistrict Boards, goes against each and every of the four avowed objective in the White Paper. But of course there

antha White Paper imcering

are other paragraphs and I make

no apology for wanting

relevant

of Jinky

to be exhaustive.// Paragraph 20 has something to

say and I hope I will be forgiven to read only part of it. "Those against

meaning those against

the introduction of direct elections this year, "argued

that introduction in 1988 was too soon, either because

it could endanger stability and continuity, coming

within three years of the last major reorganisation,

or because the system of elections to be used after

1997 had not yet been established in the Basic Law due to be promulgated in 1990. so two points were

being taken there. The first is that the introduction

of direct elections this year might endanger stability.

The second is that it might lead to a non-convergence problem.

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As to the first, difficulty,

I

suggest it is a totally bad point because of the Government's reply to a question in this Council

on 27th May 1987. Round about that time, Members

may recall, there were a few pro-Beijing newspapers suggesting that the introduction of direct elections in 1988 would jeopardise the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong and will therefore be in breach of the

Joint Declaration. In this regard, I think I ought

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