was a new provision 20 per cent of the composed of Chinese
of heads of families in Hong Kong, that, with the exception of up to members, the Legislature is to be citizens who are permanent residents of the SAR with no right of abode in a foreign country; the remaining 20 per cent do not have to have the nationality or absence of right of abode qualifications. Whether those who framed that provision considered how it could be translated into an electoral law must be matter
matter for conjecture.
be
a
The relationship between the Executive and the Legislature
28.
The present political structure in Hong Kong has two principal characteristics: the members of the executive are appointed and their relationship with the Legislative Council follows the Westminster model. Members of the executive sit in the Legislative Council and conduct the business of government there, introducing and managing the progress of government bills, presenting and defending the budget and estimates, answering questions from private' members and defending the Administration's exercise of executive power. A natural development of such a relationship, if the members of the SAR Legislature were to be in some way elected, would be the emergence of an executive dependent on the electorate and a ministerial, system of government. That was not acceptable to the Chinese who wished to maintain the kind of arrangement for the executive which presently exist which, in their view "ensures that the government organs of the Hong Kong SAR will be able to work more smoothly and effectively"; ministerial or cabinet system which would give too much power to the Legislature would not be appropriate[52] ̧ The BLDC, therefore, proceeded to draft articles on the
28 29
a