TNAG-1843-FCO40-2618-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 36

That provision is now covered in Article 14 of the second draft.

First SAR Government

Much concern was expressed in Hong Kong that the first draft

envisaged a break in membership of the legislature in 1997.

widely argued that this would not be conducive to a smooth

transition.

It was

It is now clear, that members of the Legislative Council to be elected in 1995 will become members of the first legislature of the

SAR. This is subject only to certain conditions. They should support the Basic Law, should be willing loyally to serve the SAR, and should meet the other requirements of the Basic Law. This seems perfectly reasonable.

English as an Official Language

People were concerned that there was no provision in the first draft for the use of English as an official language. This would have caused particular problems for the courts, given that judges may be recruited from overseas.

Article 9 of the second draft expressly provides that English may be used as an official language in the SAR. Chinese officials are also on public record as stating that there will be an authentic English text of the Basic Law. This too will be particularly necessary for

the courts.