TNAG-2233-FCO40-3206-Visits-by-the-Office-of-Members-of-the-Executive-and-Legisla-1991 — Page 16

BACKGROUND

1.

Mr Ron Arculli was born in Hong Kong in 1939 and

educated in Hong Kong and Australia. He is a solicitor.

He was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1988 and is a

member of the Co-operative Resources Centre, formed by a

group of LegCo members after the September elections. He is a frequent visitor to London. (A brief biography is

attached.)

Co-operative Resources Centre (CRC)

2.

Formed in October under the leadership of Allen Lee, the

CRC has a membership of 21 Legislative Counsellors, drawn

from the appointed members and business and professional

groups. Despite its name, the CRC is more than a resource-sharing organisation. It has been described, with

some justification, as a political party without a party

label, and has already shown some political coherence over

the way its members have voted, eg, on the convenorships of some of the ad hoc panels. Opposition to the United Democrats is probably what unites them most. It is likely

that the CRC will eventually incorporate what remains of the

LDF.

3.

Allen Lee resigned recently as Senior Member of LegCo in

order to devote himself more to the leadership of the CRC. It is not yet clear whether the group will develop as a broadly pro-government party or whether it will seek to

create an alternative identity for itself.

Measures to tackle speculation in the Property Market

4.

It is generally recognised that the residential property

market in Hong Kong is in the throes of a speculative surge,

with prices becoming out of reach for ordinary home buyers.

FOBABP/1

JRB