TNAG-2277-FCO40-3276-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-1991 — Page 35

independence of mind and experience in public service, not of political views. They were generally well-received in Hong Kong.

In the

In the light of the elections, the Governor has also now announced a number of appointments to his Executive Council. ExCo has developed over the years into the key

policy-making centre of the Hong Kong Government.

absence of a "government party" in LegCo, the role of ExCo members in promoting the administration's policies within LegCo will now be more important than ever.

In addition to reappointing a number of experienced

members of ExCo, the Governor has brought onto the

Council four new members, all of whom serve on the

Legislative Council, one being directly-elected and two

others elected by functional constituencies. He plans to

make further appointments in due course, with the aim of

bringing onto ExCo representatives of all strands of opinion within LegCo. But at present the United Democrats have made clear publicly that they cannot

accept ExCo's ground rules.

These ground rules are not set in concrete. But if

ExCo is to function effectively, members have to know that their discussions will be held in private, that confidential information will be protected, and that members will not oppose publicly decisions collectively arrived at even difficult and unpopular ones.

ExCo's role is bound to evolve just as other aspects of Hong Kong's system of government are changing in the

approach to 1997. We and the Governor hope that over time more members of the Legislative Council will be

prepared to accept the rules of the game so that it is