TNAG-2716-FCO40-3922-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 17

}

SECRET

(111)

To

The raised

of

(Hou in his article

9.11.92 claimed that Lord Wilson in his visit to Peking in November 1988 confirmed that FC elections should be indirect.) According to

our records Lord Wilson did not touch specifically on FC elections on that occasion; but merely described the composition of LegCo as being of Direct and Indirect elements.}

make

elected

all District Board members and to abolish appointed members of Municipal Councils.

(iv)

To

(v)

(vi)

The

BL does

not prescribe the membership of DB/MC.

Abolition of appointed seats a logical step as LegCo will. be fully elected in 1995. Under proposal, DB would have taken 12 years from their inception to become fully elected bodies; and Urban Council would similarly have taken 20 years to develop from partial to fully elected membership.

give

the

District

Boards responsibility for local public works projects and other local activities; and to increase their funding.

То

same.

The nature of DBS will remain essentially the

Not incompatible with the provision for District Organisations in the BL; EL 97'5 list of activities for district organizations clearly illustrative ("providing services in such fields

").

as

establish an independent Boundary and Election Commission. The BL is silent on this subject.

For the Election Committee to have all

OF most of

its members drawn from the District Boards.

The

Basic

Law prescribes the membership of the Election Committee for the Second LegCo. But it makes clear that the

first LegCo Election

Committee is not that in Annex I of the Basic Law.

5