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Mr Paul
Paul, HKD
2619
19/25/14
Enter: Political Parties
HKD 011 15
17
PS/Lord Caithness
(81)
FROM:
DATE:
24 September 1990
CC:
Mr McLaren Mr Burns o/r
LORD CAITHNESS' MEETING WITH NEW POLITICAL GROUPS IN HONG KONG
1. Mr Michael Suen, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, chaired a meeting for Lord Caithness to meet representatives of new political groups in Hong Kong on 19 September. The meeting started with each representative being given a chance to lay out his wares.
2.
Mr F K Hu of the Liberal Democratic Federation explained that his group, which had started late, represented Conservative and business opinion. Their main concern was to avoid unnecessary confrontation with China and to see better UK/Chinese relations.
3. Mr McGregor of the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation said that, if the "one country/two systems" was to work, then Hong Kong people had to run Hong Kong. He recognised it was impossible for China to allow a fully democratic Hong Kong, but the pace of the development of democracy had been too slow. There was a general expectation of reform in China. The colonial type of operation in Hong Kong was finished: a small group of individuals could no longer run the economy. The people of Hong Kong, many of whom had trained abroad, had different expectations. On economic issues, Mr McGregor said that there was very little difference between the various political groups emerging in Hong Kong.
4.
Mr Cheng Kai Nam of the Association for Building a Better Hong Kong described the Association as a research group of professionals. Formed after the events of June 1989 in China, it now boasted 70 members. His members were committed to staying in Hong Kong and they wanted to do something constructive for the territory. Issues should be tackled from the point of view of Hong Kong people themselves: Hong Kong voices should not be used as a weapon by either the UK or China.
5. Mr Cheung Ping-Leung of Meeting Point said that his organisation was viewed as pro-China; but in fact they put Hong Kong interests first. Hong Kong had to find a new future after 1997 as part of "one country/two systems". Meeting Point therefore demanded faster development of democracy. People had doubts about the UK's commitment, although they
/appreciated what
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