TNAG-2177-FCO40-3114-Hong-Kong-Bill-of-Rights-1990 — Page 121

CONFIDENTIAL

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HKC 241/1

FROM:

A R Paul

RECEIV

5 NOV 1990

Hong Kong Department

DATE:

1 November 1990

Ms/Major

CC:

Mr McLaren

Mr Burns

Mr Fifoot, Legal Advisers

Ms Barrett, Legal Advisers

Ms Saunders

DARWIN CHEN'S CALL ON LEGAL ADVISERS

1.

34

Thank you for your minute of 31 October about Darwin

Chen's call on Mr Fifoot and Ms Barrett.

Mr Chen went over

broadly similar ground with me. I have very little to add.

2.

On the ExCo/LegCo relationship, I found what Mr Chen had to say reasonably encouraging. He also told me that the

Hong Kong Government have a paper on the ExCo/LegCo relationship already on the stocks; and that they are simply waiting for an opportune moment to put it to ExCo. I think it would be worth trying to obtain a copy of the draft paper soon, to give us more time to consider it. This would be all the more desirable if the paper goes into the wider

issues mentioned by Mr Chen.

3. On the Bill of Rights, Mr Chen told me that a delay in

the enactment of the Bill of Rights until early 1991 for "Hong Kong" reasons would give cover for our continuing efforts to square the Chinese. But he was not optimistic

that he would succeed. He said that as far as LegCo was

concerned, the main concern was now whether the Bill would affect the ability of the Hong Kong authorities to maintain

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CC

CONFIDENTIAL

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