TNAG-1844-FCO40-2619-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1989 — Page 17

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BE MAF '68 14:20

FRON COI TECH FADIO

TO FCO NEWS

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TRANSCRIPT A HONG KUNG SELECT COMMITTEE MEETING

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22 MAR 89

15

FURKIGE SECRETARY (GOND);

are

I do not want to weary the Committee Chairman because there

a number of improvements and of course there are other matters which you may want to ask me about which still cause conceru.

QUESTION:

Can 1

Yes I would like to, Secretary of State, in fact in Annex C of your Mamɔrandum you list the 14 criticism of the first draft and in the second colum you put the list of improvements. just make it clear in my own wind that first of all that those 14 are your sum total as it were of your criticsms, and therefore if their 14 points are met you would believe that the Basic Law does in fact fulfil the spirit of the Joint Declaration?

And secondly, in the list of improvements, particularly in criticism number 4 on courts for example, there are quite outstanding issues. I would just like you to tell me how you

compare these two colums and are these 14 points the sum total of

your requirements?

PORRIGN SECRETARY:

I think, Chairman, that the 14 points are,

that the 14 points are, as Lord Goddard

They are the important points. used to say, our best points.

I

have no doubt there may be others that people have looked at but they are the important ones and the outstanding ones therefore are those on which attention is now being focussed principally.