TNAG-2780-FCO40-3999-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-Chinese-reac-1993 — Page 11

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-1 JUL 1983

RJ Bunten Hong Kong Dept

DATE: 8 July 1993

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174

Mr Ricketts PS/Mr Goodlad

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PREPARATORY WORKING COMMITTEE

1. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress announced on 2 July that it would establish a Preparatory Working Committee (PWC) of the Preparatory Committee of the Hong Kong SAR. The Minister might be interested in an analysis of the members of the Preparatory Working Committee which was announced at the same time.

2. The PWC will have 57 members, 27 from the mainland and 30 from Hong Kong. Its director will be Qian Qichen, it will have seven vice-directors, four from the mainland and three from Hong Kong. The bureaucratically important Secretariat will be staffed from the HKMAO and will be headed by Lu Ping. I attach a full list of the members.

3. Twenty seven of the Hong Kong members are also Hong Kong Affairs Advisers of the HKMAO. Twenty of these are confirmed supporters of China. They do not contain any members of the UD (HK) or of Meeting Point. The Chinese have made a selection from the Advisers which is even less likely to put forward views unwelcome to the Chinese side. Possibly the Chinese envisage the PWC having a real role in reaching decisions on the transition, unlike the Advisers. Although they have included a small number of former political figures and well-known businessmen (such as Sir S.Y. Chung, Maria Tam and Rita Fan), most people in Hong Kong will not feel that the Hong Kong participants are in any way representative of Hong Kong opinion. The mainland members include a number with legal knowledge as well as representatives of the PLA and the Public Security Bureau. This may indicate that the Chinese see the Committee as having a role in areas which could affect these bodies' interests.

4. It is unlikely that the Committee will be able to meet regularly, at least in plenary. Many of the participants have significant outside interests. It is more likely that it will

CONFIDENTIAL