CONFIDENTIAL
TO ASK THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
IF HE WILL MAKE A STATEMENT ON THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN HONG KONG?
The Hong Kong Government has today published a White Paper on the
further development of representative Government in the territory. Copies of this paper have been placed in the Library of the House.
There
After the publication on 18 July of the Green Paper on representative Government, two months were allowed for public
comment, which was received from a wide variety of sources.
was general support for the aims of the Green Paper and the gradual
and progressive nature of the proposals made in it. The White Paper, which takes account of these views, sets out the Hong Kong Government's intentions for the 1985 elections to the Legislative
Council.
The main points in it are:
(a)
(b)
Twelve members (rather than six as proposed in the Green Paper) will be elected to the Legislative Council by an electoral college in
1985. Ten will be elected by groups of District Board members, organised on a regional basis, and one each by the Urban Council and the proposed New Territories Regional Council.
Twelve members (instead of the six originally proposed) will be elected in 1985 from nine functional constituencies representing various important sectors of the community.
CONFIDENTIAL