TNAG-2233-FCO40-3206-Visits-by-the-Office-of-Members-of-the-Executive-and-Legisla-1991 — Page 5

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which he founded following the September elections as an

alternative focus for LegCo members who did not belong to

the United Democrats. The CRC is expected, in due course, to become a fully-fledged political party, absorbing the

remains of the Liberal Democratic Federation; it will have

its sights set on the 1995 LegCo elections. Both the Secretary of State and Lord Caithness saw the United

Democrat leader, Mr Martin Lee, when he visited London at

the end of last month, and between them gave him a fair

amount of their time. It is clearly desirable for us to

treat the main political groups in Hong Kong evenhandedly.

4. Mr Allen Lee has also been a member of ExCo since 1985

and, of the six ExCo members who are also members of LegCo,

he and Mrs Rita Fan were the only two who voted with the Hong Kong Government in the recent debate on the Court of Final Appeal (CFA).

5. The other LegCo members who will be accompanying Mr Lee

are Mr Stephen Cheong (Industrial Functional Constituency),

who also voted against Simon Ip's CFA motion, Dr Edward Chen

(newly appointed member) who voted for the motion, and Mr Henry Tang (newly-appointed member) who abstained.

6. It might in some ways produce a more satisfactory

conversation to see Mr Lee on his own. He will be less

likely to disclose the contents of his mind with LegCo

colleagues present. But, since all four have asked to make

these calls it would be invidious, and probably count productive, to differentiate between them on this

occasion.

KAYAAQ/2

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