DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)

1984 that an indirectly elected element would be

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION introduced into the Legislative Council in the elections

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

of 1985: twelve members were duly elected from

1

functional' constituencies based on major professional

and occupational groups; and twelve others were elected

on a geographical basis by an electoral college

comprising all members of the urban and Regional Councils

and District Boards. (The other 32 members of the

Legislative Council were either officials or appointed

members.)

In Confidence

26. The 1984 White Paper also considered the question

of direct elections to the Legislative Council. It noted

that there was strong public support for the idea of

direct elections but little support for such elections in

the immediate future. It undertook to hold a review in

1987, before the 1988 elections to give an opportunity

for further consultation about future development,

including such questions as the introduction of direct

elections.

The

27. The review took place in 1987 as promised.

options were set out in a Green Paper "The 1987 Review

of Developments in Representative Government" published

in May.

It covered many aspects of representative

government including the question of whether and if so

when there should be a directly elected element to the

Legislative Council. A Survey Office was set up to

collect (but not to assess) public opinion on the Green

Paper. It operated outside the ordinary machinery of

Share This Page