TNAG-1843-FCO40-2618-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 40

WOZAPE

BASIC LAW: GENERAL

(C) VIEWS ON SECOND DRAFT?

The Basic Law has already gone through two drafts. Many of our

concerns, which generally coincided with those expressed by the

public in Hong Kong, have already been taken into account.

Much of the first draft was satisfactory. Some parts of it

quoted the Joint Declaration verbatim. But it contained a number of deficiences which were identified during the consultation process.

The second draft is a welcome improvement over the first draft.

Changes have been made to the first draft which meet many concerns

voiced by Hong Kong people and by Parliament. But there is still

scope for improvement.

- We hope that people in Hong Kong will continue to put forward

their views on the revised draft in the second round of consultation

which has just started. Chinese officials have emphasised that the

second draft will be subject to further changes in the light of

views expressed during this process. They have noted in particular that the provisions on the political structure and Article 19 (not

yet approved by the Basic Law Drafting Commitee (BLDC) will need further study.