CONFIDENTIAL
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With regard to separate vote counting, the Chinese believes that this voting method will help the Legislative Council to perform its check-and-balance function SO that the general interests of the various social strata in Hong Kong could be protected, thereby contributing to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. The detailed procedures for separate vote counting will be deliberated and decided upon at the forthcoming minth plenary session of the Drafting Committee. The Chinese side has по intention to insist on separate vote counting if the British side is not going to introduce it in Hong Kong's Legislative Council in 1995. The introduction of
this voting method by the time of the first session of the Legislative Council of the SAR in 1997 will not affect the convergence of the political systems.
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the
With regard to the limit to the number of seats in Legislative Council of the SAR for those permanent Hong Kong residents who are not Chinese nationals or who have a right of abode in foreign countries, China's position is already very clear.
The Basic Law must include a stipulation to limit the number of seats which could be held by the following two categories of people in the Legislative Council in the SAR: 1) Foreigners, or permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region who are not Chinese nationals: 2) Chinese citizens who are residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and have a right of abode in foreign countries. The measure to include the second category of people is adopted solely because the British side has unilaterally announced to grant "full British citizenship" to 50,000 families. The British statement that no nationality restrictions have been placed on membership of the Hong Kong Legislative Council is not consistent with the historical facts of Hong Kong. The ninth plenary session of the BLDC will make the decision on the extent of the said limit.
permanent
P4694
CONFIDENTIAL
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