SECRET AND PERSONAL
some corrective is now urgently needed: at present Chinese policy on operational issues of importance to Hong Kong is being influenced by unfounded perceptions of major shifts in policy.
The Foreign Secretary suggests that the Governor
should draw on the following elements during his talks in Peking, making clear that he is doing so with the full authority of the Prime Minister and the Foreign
Secretary:
The election result ensures continuity of British policy towards Hong Kong. As the Queen's speech made clear, Britain's policy is based on cooperation with China on the basis of the Joint Declaration.
There are no plans to change the role or functions of
the Executive Council. It is important that ExCo should continue to be an effective decision-taking body.
As the Foreign Secretary has made clear publicly, on the question of democracy the Government has two objectives: steady progress towards a greater degree of direct elections in Hong Kong, and that this progress should be sustained without interruption after China resumes exercise of sovereignty in 1997.
The Government has made clear since 1990 that they will discuss with China all the issues involved in the
1995 elections. This long-standing commitment includes talking about the number of directly-elected seats. The Chinese side should not see this as a threat. The objective will be, if possible, to agree with the Chinese on the component parts of the 1995
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