TNAG-2449-FCO40-3565-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 8

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CONFIDENTIAL

on the functional constituencies, these were much more difficult. He had been through the 53 submissions on the subject to the Legço Select Committee earlier this year and had noted all the proposals for new constituencies, and for

adaptation/splitting of existing constituencies. He would be happy to share his conclusions with Mr. Sze. I had the impression that he was thinking of picking nine new functional seats which would be similar in size and design to the existing seats. He commented that he would favour giving priority to grass-roots and social organisations rather than more

representation for business.

When and how such proposals were presented would be as important as their substance. All sorts of legislative devices were available which needed studying. For example, he thought that it should be possible to avoid a vote on second reading. But the chances of that would be increased if there was a motion debate at the time the bills were introduced which allowed members to record a vote on the subject without having to address the specific bills. question of who would chair the bills committees was also crucial. He suggested that the Government should study tactics with a small group of like-minded Legco members.

The

I asked Mr. Barrow where, if he put forward new proposals particularly for the functional constituencies, he would get his votes from. I added that Martin Lee seemed to be taking a very purist line. Mr. Barrow agreed. But this was inevitable. If he showed any sign of readiness to compromise now, he would be on a slippery slope. It would be a big decision for the independent members whether to seek to join forces with the United Democrats or the CRC. The CRC were unreliable and inclined to be devious, as they had shown over the airport platform contract. He personally would be more comfortable with the UD as partners. The worst ́outcome would be if both groups voted against a compromise proposal coming from the independent members.

CONFIDENTIAL