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KONG AND THE MAINLAND AND THAT HONG KONG AND BRITAIN SHOULD NOT PLAY VARIOUS 'CARDS'', THE PAPERS (11.4) REPORTED. HE NOTED THAT THERE HAD NEVER BEEN VERY MUCH DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG. JIANG ASKED WHY THE GOVERNOR SHOULD SUDDENLY PLAY THE ''DEMOCRACY CARD' IN THE SHORT PERIOD BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE FROM HONG KONG. A BOOK ON THE BIRTH OF THE BASIC LAW WOULD BE PUBLISHED BY WEN WEI PO, THE PAPERS (17.4) REPORTED. DENG XIAOPING, INSCRIBED THE TITLE OF THE BOOK AND JI PENGFEI WROTE THE PREFACE. THE BOOK WOULD BE ON SALE IN HONG KONG SHORTLY.
9. FRANCIS MAUDE, IN A REPLY TO A LETTER BY ANDREW WONG, HEAD OF THE OMELCO CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PANEL, SAID THAT THE NATIONALITY RESTRICTIONS ON POST-1997 LEGISLATORS IN THE BASIC LAW WERE NOT UNUSUAL, THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (18.4) REPORTED. HE SAID THAT EVEN BRITAIN HAD SIMILAR PROVISIONS TO REGULATE FOREIGN NATIONALS SITTING ON BRITISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES. SING PAO (14.4) AND WAH KIU YAT PO (16.4) ALSO REPORTED ON MAUDE'S REPLY TO OMELCO, SAYING THAT BRITAIN HAD HAD EXTENSIVE SECRET DELIBERATIONS WITH CHINA DURING THE DRAFTING OF THE BASIC LAW. HE ALSO AGREED THAT THE HONG KONG BILL OF RIGHTS SHOULD NOT BE SUPERIOR TO THE BASIC LAW.
10. THE BLCC WOULD HOLD ITS LAST PLENARY MEETING ON APRIL 19 AND BE FORMALLY DISSOLVED ON APRIL 30, THE PAPERS (12.4) REPORTED IN WIDE COVERAGE. COMMITTEE SECRETARY-GENERAL LEUNG CHUN-YING SAID ALL DOCUMENTS KEPT BY THE BLCC, INCLUDING MINUTES OF MEETINGS, WOULD BE DESTROYED. PUBLICATIONS, INCLUDING REPORTS ON THE CONSULTATIVE EXERCISES, WOULD BE HANDED OVER TO THE HONG KONG MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND THE HISTORY MUSEUM OF PEKING.
11. MARTIN LEE, CHAIRMAN OF THE UNITED DEMOCRATS OF HONG KONG, WAS POISED TO STEP DOWN FROM THE ALL HONG KONG ALLIANCE IN SUPPORT OF THE PATRIOTIC PRO-DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT IN CHINA, THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST (17.4) REPORTED. SOME MEMBERS OF THE UNITED DEMOCRATS WERE WORRIED THAT LEE'S LEADING ROLE IN THE ALLIANCE WOULD JEOPARDISE THE PARTY'S FUTURE WORKING RELATIONS WITH CHINA.
BILL OF RIGHTS
12. JI PENGFEI TOLD A VISITING DELEGATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE SCHOLARS FROM HONG KONG THAT CHINA WOULD NOT RECOGNISE THE BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE BRITISH NATIONALITY PACKAGE, MANY PAPERS (11.4) REPORTED. HE SAID THE MATTER WAS BEING PURSUED THROUGH DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS. HEUNG YEE KUK CHAIRMAN LAU WONG-FAT WAS WORRIED THAT THE ENTITLEMENT OF MALE INDIGENOUS RESIDENTS IN THE NT TO SMALL HOUSES WOULD BE CHALLENGED BY THE BILL OF RIGHTS, THE HONG KONG ECONOMIC
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