TNAG-2209-FCO40-3169-Future-of-Hong-Kong-principal-officials-1991 — Page 28

CONFIDENTIAL

B. Nature of a Transitional Regime

7. The UK/HKG is now of its nature a transitional

government.

To what extent should it/is it inevitable that

it must so arrange the institutions of government to

facilitate the succession? i.e. how far can convergence in

advance of 1997 go?

C. Possible Lines of Departure

8. To assimilate, as far as possible, the institutions of

the transitional government to the institutions of the Basic

Law in advance of 1997 could both familiarise the people of

Hong Kong with the future structure of government and go

some way to providing a known set of institutions when

Chinese sovereignty is resumed so that everything will not

then be strange and new Such a familiarisation process

should extend to all thee main organs of Government

Executive, Legislative and Judicial (plans are already being

made as regards the judiciary though, of course, they do

not involve any equivalent jurisdiction to the

interpretative power of the Standing Committee of the NPC).

We have also given a clear indication that we will accept

FB5AAR/3

CONFIDENTIAL