Methods by which to attain Elected Representation in Government E. Elliott
1. "A Good Thing" Lord Gorcnwy Roberts
At a Press Conference in January, 1975, Lord Goronwy Roberts said:
"Britain's Labour Government believes that it would be a good thing' to turn the Legislative Council into an elected assembly provided that Hong Kong really wants it." According to the "Standard" report, he stressed: "We look at each case on its own merits. Certainly the advance to elective self-government as far as we can see looking at you from London, is a good thing. But more important than that is that the desire for it, and its form, and the speed with which it is implemented should spring genuinely from your community.
From Lord Goronwy Roberts speech, the important principles are:
any one sector)
1. that the movement must be th desire of the community (and he did not limit it to 2. that the British Government does favour such a step. However, Lord Goronwy Roberts did not give any guidance as to how the desires of the people were to be ascertained, or by what method that representation could be achieved if that is what the community desires.
Today I have been asked to speak on the methods we may use to achieve elected representation in the Government. I should like to begin by pointing out what methods have been used in the past, and whether the same methods are likely to succeed in the future, and what other methods may be used. I am sure that you will have suggestions to add in the discussion that follows. Unless we have plens, we shall become only a platform for speeches, without any concrete result.
2. A History of Petitions
Many people imagine that all we have to do is to send a petition to London and we shall succeed. But a glance at history will show that the only successful petitions ever made to London have been made by big business:
1. In 1849, a petition was made to Parliament by leading British businessmen in Hong Kong, asking for a kind of municipal council for the ritish similar to that in Shanghai. Governor Bowring preferred to give more say to the Chinese community, and because of this he lost the support of Pritish merchants and had to retire in 1859.
As a result of this petition, British Merchants began to be appointed to the Legislative Council as unofficials, although most of those merchants were involved in the drug trade. This petition was a victory for British business and the drug trade, but a failure for the Chinese, who remained unrepresented.
2. In 1867, a petition was made to the Secretary of State in London by British merchants who objected to having to pay for the army here. Although the petition failed, Pritish business continued to dominate the "egislative Council.
3. In 1894, ratepayers in Hong Kong made a petition to the Secretary of State in London. They demanded a majority of unofficials on the Legislative Council. In refusing this request, the British Minister made a statement similar to statements still being made today as excuses for making no progress: he said that Hong Kong differed, from other Crown Colonies in that "it possessed no traditions, no history, and no record of political usages or constitutional rights, and it had few life-long residents whether British or Chinese."
4. In 1916, another petition was made to the Secretary of State in London, asking that more unofficials be elected from bodies such as JFs and the Chamber of Commerce. Again it was a movement of Hong Kong British businessmen.
Up to this point, all petitions had concerned giving more power to businessmen, and they met with some sucess, resulting in the situation today in which the Legislative Council is dominated by business interests.
5. In 1949, just after World War 11 ended, there was a different kind of petition, this time mainly from the Chinese community. At that time the Young Plan for a fully elected Municipal Council with wider powers than the Urban Council had just beer sabotaged by British and Chinese businessmen on the Legislative Council. This petition was supported by 142 Chinese organisations representing 141,800 people. They demanded something like our present demands, that is, that all unofficials on the Legislative Council should be elected, and that there should be a fully elected Municipal Council. But the petition was rejected on the excuse that events in China were uncertain because of the war in Korea. This caused widespread disappointment.