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Over the years, the community has been used to
being consulted on a wide range of issues: housing,
transport, education and medical services. Even whether
there should be summer time or not. And, of course, over
the development of representative
government in Hong le Kong. But the 1987 Review was
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was an exercise in public
consultation on a scale never attempted before here. Over
2
million copies of the Green Paper were distributed.
Although
some
aspects of that consultation exercise, it has never been
the government has been criticised over
=
suggested that the government was half-hearted in seeking
三
the views of the Hong Kong people on the way they wished
to see their system of government developed.
壳
Our efforts have been rewarded in a response of
unprecedented magnitude. Over 130,000 submissions were
sent by individuals and groups to the Survey Office. There were vigorous debates in the District Boards, in the Municipal Councils and in this Council. Thousands of
columns of newsprint and countless minutes of air time
were devoted to the subject, and hundreds of meetings of
interested people were held across the community.
Siri
The 1987 Review has well and truly laid to rest
the myth that Hong Kong people do not care about political
development. By its response over the period of the last
the community has shown that it does
fundamental importance of developing our
nine months,
recognise the