This rate of progress is not as rapid as many people in Hong Kong, or the British Government, would have liked to see. But there was also considerable relief in Hong Kong that a major uncertainty for the territory's future had been removed. As OMELCO themselves recognised in their statement of 16 February, the task now is to make a success of the 1991 legislature working in practice, they will in time come to accept the view that a higher proportion of directly elected seats should be introduced in 1995, when the last elections under British Administration are due to take place. That is why the number of directly elected seats in 1995 remains open.
It would have been foolish and irresponsible to have devised a system which would have resulted in a dead end in 1997 and caused a breakdown in cooperation with China over the next seven years. That would not have served Hong Kong's interests.
As you may be aware a draft Bill of Rights for Hong Kong was published for public consultation on 16 March. The Bill will give effect in a single local law to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied in Hong Kong. The Covenant of course has been applied in Hong Kong since 1976. The Joint Declaration and the Basic Law provide
for it to remain in force after 1997.
ever
Yous
Jolmhain
J Morris
Hong Kong Department
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