10.
people's elected representatives with the
Administration via a so-called ministerial system
would representative government have real meaning;
and Mr. Peter Wong and Mr. Stephen Cheong also
touched on the possibility that, in due course,
some Unofficial. Members of Executive Council might
assume executive responsibility for particular portfolios.
Although there are valid arguments in favour of
introducing such a system, and the link between the
Executive and Legislative Councils and the Administration
presently provided by ex-officio and Official Members
could just as logically be provided by appointing some
Unofficial Members to executive posts, it would represent
a radical change in the present constitutional and
administrative system in Hong Kong. That is no contrary
argument in itself and I can assure Miss Dunn and
Mrs. Selina Chow that our minds are not closed to this
possible viewpoint. However, we must avoid overloading
the system with too many simultaneous reforms and we
must be quite clear as to the implications of such
appointments for the collective policy-making role
of the Executive Council. Equally, the implications
of a ministerial system for the Civil Service must
be clearly thought through.
However, as with direct
/elections...