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It
it is one on which the liberals and trades union leaders (including those pro-China elements) can make common cause. is also a potentially dangerous one, because Hong Kong's labour needs are unlikely to stop at an extra 25,000: as the process continues, opposition to it could take the form of strikes or street demonstrations. We are not at that point yet, but the situation needs to be watched carefully.
19. The third dominant issue has been the retirement of the Governor and the identity and desirable attributes of his successor. You will already have heard a great deal about this topic from visitors from Hong Kong and do not need any further elaboration from me. Suffice to say that the timing manner of the announcement ahs perplexed many people here and has ensured that the issue will remain high on the political agenda until a successor is identified.
Future Issues: The Airport
20. In the next couple of months I expect the question of the escalating cost of the airport to move to the centre of the political stage. Politicians across the spectrum have told me that the airport will be unpopular with the man in the street whose preoccupations are with bread and butter issues such as inflation, education, transport and social services and who rarely has the opportunity to travel abroad. The airport will be blamed for Hong Kong's economic ills and shortcomings. Opinion both inside and outside LegCo will be critical of the escalating costs and it remains to be seen how Finance Committee will react to the financing plans for the railway and airport when they are revealed in detail.
The Electoral Review
21.
I think it inevitable that the whole complex of democracy- related issues will also dominate the political scene in the coming months. The HKG hope to confine their review to technical questions but I see no prospect of the LegCo discussion being limited in this way. The Select Committee has got off to a controversial start with the row over its composition and Chairman. Its high political profile will ensure that the question of faster democracy, the future of functional constituencies etc, will feature prominently in the public debate. These are issues which could help the liberals to regain the initiative from the CRC.
The Performance of Legco
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