TNAG-2716-FCO40-3922-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 130

57.

Sir John Stanley

It was a complaint that was put to us emphatically by the

Chinese Ministers we saw in China a few weeks ago that the British

Government had failed in alleged obligations to consult the Chinese

Government before the proposals had gone into the public domain as to the

electoral system which was to be used for the local elections in 1994 and

the wider Hong Kong LegCo elections in 1995. I understand, and do correct

me if I am wrong, that what in fact took place was that approximately a

fortnight before the Governor produced his proposals for public discussion

they were brokered or revealed in verbal terms to the Chinese at the United

Nations and then just a matter of days before they went into the public

domain there was a summary piece of paper which was given to the Chinese

Government. I do not expect you to comment on the diplomatic niceties and

the diplomatic judgement involved in that particular process but could you

tell the Committee whether you are aware of any legal obligations that were

upon the British Government through the Governor or any undertakings in any

written form that had been given to the Chinese Government previously that

they would be involved in a process of consultation before the Governor

produced his published detailed proposals for these elections?

(Mr Chamberlain) I think the short answer to that is I am not aware

of any such understanding. You have said quite rightly that the question

of the diplomatic appropriateness of this is not a matter on which I am in

a position to comment, but so far as the law is concerned the obligations

in the Joint Declaration are for there to be closer co-operation between

the two sides in the second half of the period leading up to 1997. That is

the obligation. We believe that that commitment has been fulfilled by the

consultations which have been taking place with the Chinese. It is simply

a question of judgement as to whether or not the Governor's proposals

should have been made public before the process of consultation has been

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