GOVERNOR Chris Patten has warned of disruption and uncertainty if a set of clear and objective criteria on who can ride on the through train in 1997 is not in place before the 1995 Legislative Council elections.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, he gave a strong hint that London would prefer if lawmakers elected in 1995 could sit on the post-1997 legislature by taking an oath to uphold the Basic Law and swear allegiance to the Special Administrative Region, as prescribed under Article 104.
''Article 104 applies after 1997. All we're saying is that there should be similar criteria for determining candidates elected before 1997 can travel through after 1997. Article 104 is a good basis for determining the criteria for legislators travelling through 1997,'' he said.
Mr Patten said the through train plus a set of ''fair and open'' electoral arrangements that were acceptable to Hongkong people were equally important to Britain.
He dismissed speculation that London would make concessions on the pace of democracy at the expense of the through train.
''I think both pillars are equally important and neither are after all terribly difficult to achieve, or shouldn't be,'' he said.