New | Top lawyer calls for pre-handover Sino-British deals to be made public

Secret details of deals struck between Britain and China before the handover should be made public to shed light on controversial issues such as universal suffrage, a prominent lawyer says.

Senior Counsel Alan Hoo called on London to release records of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group's closed-door meetings in 1988 and 1989.

His call came in response to a reference by Britain's Foreign Office to Article 45 of the Basic Law on universal suffrage in its most recent six-monthly report to parliament on Hong Kong affairs.

"What they must do, in the interests of the people of Hong Kong, is to make full and frank disclosure of all these agreements and accords," said Hoo, who also chairs the Basic Law Institute, a non-governmental organisation.

"These were crucial years. The JLG documents will contain all accords on important matters such as the method of selecting the chief executive which was subsequently incorporated into Article 45 of the Basic Law."

Hoo told the South China Morning Post details of meetings would reveal that it was the Chinese government that introduced the idea of universal suffrage and Britain's position on these issues at the time. "All these things, whether you agree with them or not, should be made known to the public so that we can have a meaningful debate," he said.

His remarks come amid debate about the "one country, two systems" concept underlying Hong Kong's return to China.