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There has been a lot of debate about how much weight should be given to this kind of submission or that kind of submission. Some people have even gone to the extent of totally discrediting the Survey office
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that there is a considerable number of people in Hong
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Kong who want to see direct election be introduced
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in the Legislative Council'in 1988. Equally, there
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is a substantial number of people who feel the opposite. In my view, what is of great significance and importance in the Survey Office Report is there is wide support among the people of Hong Kong for the principle of introducing some directly elected members into the Legislative Council but the community is divided over the timing of this move. Faced with this division, it is my opinion that the Government has made a historic decision of introducing an element of direct election
in 1991.
G
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What is significant about the White
Paper is the commitment that the Government has made to the subject of direct election. It has not proposed that the question of introducing a directly elected element into the Legislative Councilser or exam in 1991. It has made the introduction of direct election 26 in 1991 for tény of the seats into this Council a part
of fovernment policy. In my view, this commitment
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is a result of public response. I have fought for
a commitment to direct elections since 1983 and I advocated their introduction in 1988. Even though it is now
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it has finally happened.
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Sir, in my view, the importance
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of this White Paper goes far beyond the subject of
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the introduction of direct elections.
It means that
cap.