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Secretaries. Furthermore, the executive authorities are made accountable to the elected legislature and shall abide by the law. Such an administrative structure accords well with the spirit of representative government-in as much as the executive organs are held under the rein of law and owe their ultimate responsibility to the elected legislature. Furthermore, taxation and public spending shall continue to be the subject of debate and approval by the legislature, thereby ensuring the accountability and soundness of public finance.

However, the constitutional and government structure proposed in the draft agreement does provide grounds for concern and further deliberation since the Chief Executive is 'selected by election or through consultations held locally and be appointed by the Central People's Government'. Thus, the chain of accountability that defines the office of the Chief Executive is left loose. To remove such ambiguities, due considerations should be given to establish a more vigorous and unequivocal line of accountability between the legislature and the Chief Executive, who is the controlling officer of all the executive authorities.

Undoubtedly, Britain, China and the majority of Hong Kong are determined to maintain our open economy and free enterprise system, together with the production and investment functions. This calls for a balance of interests between the various sections of the community, vital to sustain and preserve our life-style and future growth, although not in strict accordance with the numerical distribution of population. The mechanism of constituting the future legislature must, therefore, contain a more balanced representation of diverse interests and opinions in our society. Hence, the electoral process of generating an elected legislature should not neglect the requirement of incorporating sufficient technocrats necessary for the effective operation of government, particularly in the future world of increasing sophistication.

The future Legislature

Furthermore, the elected legislative should be conscious of its role in stimulating policy-making and avoid the pitfall of being led by the executive arm, which is appointed through nomination. With increasing future autonomy conferred on our governmental structure, such concern would be justified. However, such awareness should not be translated only in the form of parliamentary debates and legalistic phraseology. Instead, it must be expressed clearly in policy- guiding. There appears a need for a caucus like an executive council formed out of a nucleus of the legislature to initiate executive policy directives and not merely to dwell on making general statements of critique and suspicion which serve little more than petty rhetorical remarks. At the same time, it is important to ensure the technical practicability of these policy proposals, especially in light of the conditions governing their specific implementation. Moreover, technocratic and specialized knowledge is of paramount importance to support the future functioning of the constitutional machinery which should therefore incorporate the participation of genuine professionals.

The Future

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In spite of the transfer of sovereignty due for 1997, it should be appreciated that both China and Britain are giving and shall continue to give the best support for the Hong Kong Government to sustain its present structure and composition. The interval of 13 years between now and 1997 will be joined by an ensuring period of 50 years during which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will remain a capitalist system with unchanged life-style. We should have confidence that the good faith of both the Chinese and British Governments, together with the commitment and dedication of the Hong Kong people themselves, will make this territory a tenancious home for us and our posterity-no matter how experimental or novelistic the political motion of 'one country with two systems' may be.

I support the motion.

MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, having studied the Sino-British draft agreement, I am of the opinion that this council may commend it to the people of Hong Kong. Both the Chinese and British Governments are sincere in maintaining the prosperity and stability of the territory, and the provisions in the draft agreement are mostly in accord with the wishes of Hong Kong people and unexpectedly gratifying.

I hope the Chinese and British Governments will consider again the following three points in the interests of the people of Hong Kong:

(1) Foreign trade is important to Hong Kong in that it is a prerequisite for economic survival in the territory. The trade agreements between Hong Kong and other countries have come under pressure from protectionism. We should note that the Multi-Fibre Agreement (M.F.A.) will expire in 1986, and there is the danger that it may not be renewed. While Britain is a member of the E.E.C., China has not yet joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (G.A.T.T.). The Sino-British draft agreement alone will not guarantee trade benefits for Hong Kong. It is, therefore, hoped that the Joint Liaison Group will act promptly to gain other countries" recognition of Hong Kong's status in trade. Besides, the Hong Kong S.A.R. Government or the Central People's Government should continue the current practice of consulting the industrial and commercial circles when they negotiate trade agreements for Hong Kong in future in accordance with the provisions of the agreement.

(2) The draft agreement does not mention the problems of the Walled City which are again left over from the past. Conditions in the Walled City, Kowloon City District, are very poor indeed. Present cleansing services in the Walled City are not enough to bring about desired improvement. The Hong Kong Government should determine when and how it would redevelop the area.