prosperity.
24. The development of representative government has
taken place against this background.
The process began
at the local level in the 1970s, with the introduction of
an elected element into the Urban Council (the statutory
council with responsibilities for the provision of
municipal services to inhabitants of the urban areas of
Hong Kong). In 1982 District Boards were established on
a territory wide base to serve as a forum for public
consultation and participation in administration at the
district level. In 1986 the Regional Council was
established as the statutory authority with
responsibility for the area outside the jurisdiction of
the Urban Council. Elections to the Urban Council,
Regional Council and District Boards are on a
geographical constituency basis and through a broad
franchise.
Practically everyone who is 21 years of age
or over and has been a Hong Kong permanent resident for 7
years or more, is entitled to register to vote.
25.
The development of a more representative form of
government at the central level had also begun in the
1970s, with the expansion of the Legislative Council to
include more non official members. But at the time of
the signing of the Joint Decelaration, there were no
elected members of the Legislative Council:
all were
appointed. Following public consultation in 1984 on the
basis of a Green Paper published in July 1984, the Hong
Kong Government announced in its White Paper of November