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years ago would
Kong
mostly not have believed that British Hong
would come to an end in 1997.
suddenly confronted by a need to face up
The population
is
to realities which
they have always been able comfortably to put
put out of their minds. The combination of a high level of genuine concern, an d even fear, with political inexperience and naïvité is a
volatile mix.
4.
The new mood will be
EXCO, LEGCO and
government.
reflected in the organs of
UMELCO in the past have been
relatively compliant tools. Appointment to them has been
an accolade for those who were considered to have served
Hong Kong well, rather than a route towards the achievement
of political ambitions. They have tended to be politically
rather homogenous, and members have had no incentive to
rock
the
boat.
A11
this
is
LEGCO will be
changing.
From
September, half of
indirectly) and will
large number of members
specific constituencies (functional and local).
element must affect the appointed members in LEGCO and, via
UMELCO, those in EXCO as well.
elected (albeit
thus for the first time include a
identified with and accountable to
This new
Unofficials on both
bodies will face different political pressures, and they
will often be pulled in a direction which is inconvenient
to HMG and the Hong Kong Government.
The traditional government attitude in Hong Kong
5.
The present structure of the
the Hong Kong Government is a
constitutionally archaic colonial model, and many of the
attitudes which were traditional in earlier colonial days
survive. The tradition of "firm government"
is very strong: too often this can
insensitive to the opinions of the
personal impression of the Hong Kong
from contacts
over
administration which
me an
in particular
governed.
government
My own
Government, derived
the past 20
years, is of an
while benevolent in a paternalistic
sense and extremely conscientious about its duties is
pretty autocratic and at times both insensitive to an d
intolerant of criticism.
This said, there have been
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