TNAG-2713-FCO40-3919-Parliamentary-relations-draft-White-Paper-on-Representative--1993 — Page 47

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The ultimate aim of election of all members of the

Legislative Council by universal suffrage. Annex 2 of

the Basic Law allows for that in 2007. The British

side proposed that the Chinese authorities make clear

that they would support universal suffrage in 2007 if

that was the wish of the Special Administrarive Region.

Arrangements for selecting Chief Executives of the

Special Administrative Region. The Basic Law lays down

that there will be a "Selection Committee" for the first

Chief Executive and an "Election Committee" for future

Chief Executives. The British side proposed that if the two sides reached agreement on the method of forming the

Election Committee which would elect ten members of the

Legislative Council in 1995, the Chinese side would use

the same model for the future Selection and Election

Committees for Chief Executives and that these Committees

would be selected by open elections.

25. The Chinese side spent the first three rounds insisting

that before discussion could move on to matters of substance,

it was necessary for the two sides to reach agreement on a

list of principles. They claimed that these reflected

earlier agreements and understandings. In fact, these

"principles" would have had the effect of prejudicing the subsequent discussion of substance. The British side took

the view that in order to be productive, the talks should

deal with matters of substance, that is on practical

arrangements for the 1994/95 elections, on which no prior

agreement had been reached.

26.

At the end of the third round, the Chinese side dropped

their precondition about an agreement on principles, and

accepted that the talks should move to matters of substance.

statement 26.8/BRIEFS/NJH

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