TNAG-2715-FCO40-3921-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 72

TO US THAT WHAT THE BRITISH POLICY IS SEEKING TO DO IS TO PROCEED ON THE RIGHT LINES FOR HONG KONG WHILE' KEEPING WITHIN AND HONOURING THE BASIC LAW, THE JOINT DECLARATION OF 1984, AND ANY EXCHANGES BETWEEN MINISTERS BINCE. THAT IS OUR VIEW. IT IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE VIEW OF EVERYBODY BUT I THINK IT IS THE VIEW THAT DROADLY WE HAVE REACHED.

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NOW, ALTHOUGH I SPEAK AS CHAIRMAN, WE ARE A COMMITTEE PARTICULARLY BEFORE WE'VE REACHED A FINAL REPORT AND HAMMERED OUT OUR CONCLUSIONS AND DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES WE ARE A COMMITTEE OF EQUALS WITH VARIOUS OPINIONS AND SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES MAY WISH TO PUT A GLOSS ON WHAT I HAVE SAID OR DISAGREE WITH IT OR SAY THEY SEE IT FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE, AND WE COULD EITHER HAVE A QUESTION FIRST OR MY COLLEAGUES COULD SPEAK FIRST, I AM ENTIRELY IN YOUR HANDS. PERHAPS LET'S TAKE A QUESTION AND THEN SEE WHETHER MY COLLEAGUES CAN ANSWER IT BETTER THAN I CAN. COULD I HAVE A FIRST QUESTION? YES, THE LADY THERE,

QUESTION (UNITED DAILY NEWS) }

MR HOWELL, AFTER YOU HAVE MET THE HEAD OF NCNA, MR ZHOU NAN, LAST NIGHT, YOU SAID THAT YOU HAD CLARIFIED SOME DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS BETWEEN UK AND CHINA. SO, CAN YOU TELL US WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS?

MR HOWELL:

WELL, I CAN'T GO INTO VERBATIM DETAIL BECAUSE THESE DISCUSSIONS WERE OFF THE RECORD BUT WHAT WE WERE ANXIOUS TO ESTABLISH, AND INDEED IT IS REFLECTED IN WHAT I HAVE SAID ALREADY, IS ON WHAT BASIS THE CONSTANT ASSERTION IS MADE THAT THE CURRENT REFORM PACKAGE BREAKS THE BASIC LAW, THE JOINT ACCORD AND SO ON BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SEE THE DETAIL ON THIS. WE HEAR GENERAL STATEMENTS; WE WANTED TO KNOW ON WHAT DETAILED BASIS THIS WAS FELT TO BE SO AND WELL, WE RECEIVED AN ANSWER. I WON'T SAY IT IS NECESSARILY ONE WE AGREED WITH BUT WE DID RECEIVE AN ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, AND THAT IS WHAT 1 MEANT BY THE MATTER BEING CLARIFIED IN THAT RESPECT.

NOW, WOULD ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES LIKE TO COME IN? MR CANAVAN WOULD LIKE TO ADD SOME POINTS.

MR CANAVAN:

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, AND I AM SPEAKING PERSONALLY HERE, BUT ONE OF THE MOST TELLING POINTS WHICH HAS BEEN PUT TO THE COMMITTEE IS THAT IN THE PAST THE UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENT HAS NEVER HAD A LONG TERM STRATEGY FOR HONG KONG AND THERE HAS BEEN, AS A RESULT, AD HOC REACTION TO EVENTS. NOW, I, PERSONALLY, AM A LONG STANDING SUPPORTER OF MAXIMUM DEMOCRACY FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG. I FORMED THAT IMPRESSION ON MY FIRST VISIT TO HONG KONG A WAY BACK IN 1979 AND MY ONLY CRITICISM OF THE PRESENT PROPOSALS IS THAT IT IS TOO LITTLE AND TOO LATE, BUT I TAKE THE VIEW `BETTER LATE THAN NEVER' AND I CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE VIEWS OF CERTAIN PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY WHO THINK THAT DEMOCRACY IS A BAD THING FOR BUSINESS.

ONE OTHER POINT, AND IT IS A RELATED POINT, WHICH HAS BEEN PUT

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