Annex
Message fr
Secretary of State for Poreign and Commonwealth
Affairs to the Chinese Foreign Minister
(12 February, 1998)
זי
nave now mad time to consider bully your message February and the points made by Mr Chen Ziying so
to Sir Alan Conaid on your instructions on 8 February.
AS
ichieving an
Hong
Kong's
you know, I attach great Importance =0
understanding between our two Governments on
future political structure
and
to
e-establishing the atmosphere of mutual trust in which out
Governments have worked together in the past to promote
Zona
Kong's stability and prosperity. I recognise that the Chinese government have approached this matter in the same Spirit and have made serious efforts to identify a mutually Satisfactory way forward.
Against this background, I am now prepared to confirm an understanding with the Chinese Government on the following lines.
If the final version of the Basic Law
provides
for
elected seats in the SAR
20 directly
legislature in 1997, 24 in 1999, and 30 in 2003, che
British Government will be prepared to limit to 18 the number of directly elected seats to be introduced in 1991.
You will, however, be aware from my previous messages that this rate of progress in introducing directly elected seats would not be as rapid as many people in Hong Kong ΟΙ we ourselves would have liked. I therefore very
much hope that as you observe the 1991 legislature in
operation you will come to share our view that a faster
pace would be
both manageable and desirable, and that, by agreement with
you, an appropriate increase might be made in 1995 to create a steeper slope which could continue
after 1997.
basis, I propose at this stage to
On this
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