TNAG-2785-FCO40-4004-Hong-Kong-UK-Parliamentary-and-other-interest-in-constitutio-1993 — Page 67

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

London SW1A 2AH

19 February 1993

Michael Colvin, Esq, MP House of Commons

From The Minister of State

21

1

Dear Michal

M Marshall

12A

Thank you for your letter of 5 February about the Governor's proposals for constitutional development in Hong Kong.

I am enclosing a note which shows how the Governor's proposals relate to the provisions of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law concerning the composition of the Legislative Council. This note also provides a list of the key references in the two documents.

As the note brings out, we believe that the Governor's proposals are consistent with the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. So far the Chinese have not produced any detailed argument in support of their assertions to the contrary.

The Basic Law is in fact silent on a number of aspects of the electoral arrangements for the Legislative Council. The Governor therefore had to make proposals for the arrangements to apply in the 1995 elections. We and the Governor have stated repeatedly that the proposals are not set in concrete, and that we are ready to discuss them with the Chinese at any time without preconditions.

تسلسل اور

ALASTAIR GOODLAD