TNAG-2736-FCO40-3944-Hong-Kong-role-of-the-Legislative-Council-(LEGCO)-1994 — Page 62

ENT HOUSE, HONG KONG.

TUE SO NOU 33 12112.

PG.03

(B) as at 30.11.93 (7.30 p.m.)

SECRET

Draft Statement to Legco : 2 December

Mr. President, I should like to make a statement on the

electoral arrangements for 1994 and 1995.

For the last seven months, negotiations have been

continuing between Britain and China on the arrangements for the District Board elections in 1994 and the Municipal Council and

LegCo elections in 1995. These talks have lasted for a very long time. The 17th round concluded in Peking on Saturday without

agreement.

These negotiations are not about the pace of democratisation in Hong Kong, though some of you think they

should be. There is no argument between Britain and China over

the principle that Hong Kong's democratic institutions should

continue to develop. That is spelt out in the Joint Declaration,

which provides that from 1 July 1997 the LegCo of the SAR "shall be constituted by elections". China's own Basic Law for Hong

Kong sets out that process of democratic development in greater

detail.

What is at issue is how to turn this principle into practice. Last October I set out a number of proposals designed to achieve that. Those proposals, put forward with the full

support of the British Government and after consultations in Hong

Kong, were carefully designed to be wholly consistent with the

Joint Declaration, the Basic Law and the relevant agreements and understandings between the two sides, an objective which according to the evidence of independent lawyers to the Foreign

Affairs Committee of the House of Commons was wholly achieved. But we always made clear that they were proposals, which we wished to discuss with the Chinese side. Our clear preference is to proceed by agreement with China wherever we can, in the

interests of continuity. That is why we pressed hard for talks on these matters between Britain and China, and were pleased when

SECRET