CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In November 1984, the Government published a White Paper entitled 'The Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong'. The purpose of the White Paper was to set out the Government's intentions for 1985 with regard to the next stage of development of representative government at the central level. It concluded, amongst other things, that there should be a further review in 1987 of the progress made in the development of representative government.
The Form and Scope of the 1987 Review
2. The purpose of the 1987 Review is to consider whether the systems of representative government in Hong Kong should be further developed in 1988 and, if so, in what manner. It will be conducted within the framework of Hong Kong's existing constitutional arrangements. It will also take fully into account the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, which provides for Hong Kong to become a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China with effect from 1 July 1997.
3. The publication of this Green Paper marks the first stage in the 1987 Review. Its contents encompass:
(a) a general review of the way in which the system of government has developed so far at the district, regional and central government levels; (b) an assessment of the developments since the publication of the 1984
White Paper and of the public response to them; and
(c) consideration of the options for possible further development in 1988. 4. The Green Paper does not recommend any one option in preference to another. It does, however, set out briefly the arguments for and against different options. The objective is to encourage the widest possible public response. 5. The main issues to be considered in subsequent chapters are:
(a) the composition and functions of the District Boards and the Municipal Councils (i.e. the Urban Council and the Regional Council) and possible ways of improving the links between them (Chapter III); (b) the composition of the Legislative Council and the methods of
selecting Council Members (Chapter IV);
(c) the question of whether the Governor should continue to be the
President of the Legislative Council (Chapter V); and
(d) practical aspects of elections to the District Boards, the Municipal Councils and the Legislative Council, including the sequence and timing of elections, the voting age and the adequacy of present voting and electoral arrangements (Chapter VI).
5