IN CONFIDENCE
Law will therefore be possible. We will continue to make
the case for more directly elected seats in 1995 with vigour. But this is not the only way of building up
democracy in Hong Kong. With our agreement, the Governor will therefore be exploring in parallel how to develop Hong
Kong's representative institutions to the maximum extent
within the terms of the Joint Declaration and the Basic
Law.
The Governor proposes a substantial increase in the
degree of democracy in Hong Kong. The key points
(summarised in the enclosed annex) include lowering the
voting age to 18; making the District Boards fully
directly elected;
greatly expanding the electorate for the
LegCo functional constituencies to include the entire
working population; and ensuring that the members of the
Election Committee who will elect 10 LegCo members should
themselves have been elected (for example the Committee
could draw all or most of its members from the
directly-elected District Board members). every level of representative Government up to and including LegCo will have been formed on the basis of broadly based, fair and open elections.
In this way,
To maximise the chances of continuity in 1997, we
shall be discussing the electoral arrangements with the Chinese side, starting with the Governor's visit to Peking
from 21-23 October. On these issues, therefore, the
Governor will be announcing proposals in his LegCo speech.
But they are the result of much careful thought here and in Hong Kong and represent what we believe will best serve Hong Kong's interests. We shall need to conclude
discussions with the Chinese side in time to start making
the necessary practical arrangements early in 1993.
IN CONFIDENCE