TNAG-1899-FCO40-2697-Future-of-Hong-Kong-briefing-1989 — Page 193

CAEABZ

BA RC LAW

CONFIDENTIAL

1. BLDC VIII took place in Canton from 9-15 January.

2. 10 out of 51 amendments to the draft put forward were accepted. A

revised draft was passed by the meeting for submission to the

National People's Congress (NPC).

3. On the opening day the meeting adopted procedural rules which virtually ensured that any amendment proposed had to have the

support of the mainland drafters. As a result, very few of the

amendments proposed by the Hong Kong drafters, some of them

uncontentious, managed to get through.

4. The most notable amendment passed was the endorsement of the

"mainstream formula" for the future political structure of the HKSAR. A further important proviso was added to the effect that a majority vote of the legislature, the consent of the Chief Executive (CE), and the approval of the Standing Committee of the NPC would be necessary before referenda on the direct election of the Chief

Executive and the introduction of direct elections for all

in the legislature could be held. Furthermore that result of the

referenda would only be valid with the endorsement of at least 30%

of the eligible voters.

5.

The other nine amendments adopted involved mainly minor changes

to the draft Basic Law. These additional amendments were:

Article 18(4): "which is beyond the control of the SAR" was added

after "unrest".

Article 51: A provision was added that the Chief Executive might apply to Legco for provisional appropriation when the latter refused to pass the budget bill presented by the Government.

Article 72(9): The revised text provided that Legco should

entrust the Chief Judge of the Court of Final Appeal to form an

CONFIDENTIAL