TNAG-2450-FCO40-3567-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-1992 — Page 103

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to ensure that the Hong Kong Government can continue to

perform effectively in the more political atmosphere in Hong

Kong since the arrival of the first directly-elected LegCo

politicians in last September's election. These are matters which relate to the administration of Hong Kong up to 1997 on

which the Governor will be announcing decisions, although we

should give the Chinese some advance warning;

to develop a policy for the next LegCo elections in 1995 which will enhance democracy sufficiently to be defensible in

Westmister and to international opinion, while maximising the

prospects that democratic structures developed before 1997 can

continue thereafter. These are points which we shall need to

discuss with the Chinese in the interests of continuity and on

which the Governor will therefore be announcing proposals.

To achieve the first objective, the Governor is proposing a

number of changes, including the separation of the membership

of the Executive Council (ExCo) and LegCo, the creation of a

Government Business Committee to help with the management of

the Government's business in LegCo, and measures to improve

LegCo's effectiveness and make the Hong Kong Government more

clearly accountable to it.

The point that will attract most attention internationally is

that Martin Lee will not be appointed to ExCo. Given Lee's international profile, this will attract significant adverse

comment. But it will be part of a broader readjustment of the

roles of ExCo and LegCo involving the exclusion of all LegCo

politicians from ExCo. This will remove the anomaly whereby

some unelected LegCo leaders such as Allen Lee are at present

on ExCo, while elected liberals such as Martin Lee are not.

The Governor's view is that ExCo as at present constituted is

honkoncondev.Con.be

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