The Electoral Reform Society
REPORT OF DELEGATION
1.
Introduction
The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) was invited by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation to send a delegation: to meet appropriate organisations; to take evidence on matters relating to representation and elections; and to prepare a report.
1.1
Michael Meadowcroft, the Chairman of the Electoral Reform Society and Patrick Bradley, Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland, were in Hong Kong from 27th January to 1st February 1991. Mr Bradley attended in a private capacity at the invitation of ERS. The delegation conducted twenty-five evidence gathering sessions, held two press briefings and took part in a number of informal lunches and dinners at which it bad the benefit of discussion with a wide cross-section of Hong Kong opinion.
1.2
Those interviewed included government ministers and civil servants, members of the Legislative Council (LegCo), other members of OMELCO, trade union officials, former members of the Basic Law Consultative Committee, officials of political organisations, leading members of the business community, academics, and journalists. A full list of interviewees is provided in the Appendix. The delegation was impressed by, and greatly appreciated, the willingness of so many busy people to give time to this project and to share their experience and opinions so openly.
1.3
All interviews were conducted under “Chatham House Rules" ie formal statements made by individuals can be attributed but responses to questions can be quoted but not related to the individual.
1.4
We are grateful to a large number of Hong Kong people for their generous help with the delegation. In particular the detailed servicing of the delegation was carried out by Tony Chan of the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, and by Kathy Chan of CH Leong's LegCo office. Our intensive week and our occasionally idiosyncratic way of working must have caused them untold difficulties but if so they did not show it and were a model of efficiency under pressure. We note bere our appreciation of their work.
1.5
The financing of the delegation was met by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation but no effort to influence whom we met or what we might report was ever made by the Foundation or by any of its members. We also made it clear in advance, and through the media on our arrival in Hong Kong, that we were available to meet any appropriate person who wished to make representations to us.
1.6
We have read as widely as possibly on the issues contained in this report and have consulted numerous official and unofficial documents. However, in the interests of readability of the report, we have kept page references to a minimum.
2.
2.1
The Society
The Electoral Reform Society was formed in 1884. It is an apolitical organisation with members from all parties and from none. It campaigns primarily for the adoption of the Single Transferable Vote but advises on a wide range of matters relating to elections. In 1983 ERS was accorded consultative status with the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organisation in respect of its practical experience and expertise. In the past year ERS has been consulted by political and other organisations in most of the newly democratic Central and Eastern European countries and is also involved in the progress towards full democracy in South Africa.
2.2
ERS' role is not to seek to impose any specific solution on Hong Kong, nor to be narrowly prescriptive, but rather to endeavour to bring a different, external, and experienced eye to bear on the situation. The aim of an enquiry such as this is therefore to point to issues that may not as yet have been highlighted and to set out possible solutions for those with responsibility locally to accept or to reject.
3.
3.1
The Background
No electoral system is value free. Each system has different implications for the structure of parties and for local political needs. It is never possible completely to divorce consideration of election systems and of election processes from their local political context but in the Hong Kong situation the colonial history, and the ..constraints of the transition to the return of sovereignty to the
People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1997, have an even greater significance than usual. Whatever our personal views might be on the events since 1984 we have, for the purpose of our report, regarded the Basic Law and related agreements as largely fixed.
3.2
It must be stressed that, as an ERS delegation, our interest in the formal politics of Hong Kong is confined to consideration of their effect on possible systems of election and on the rules and regulations associated with the conduct of elections. For instance, according to the evidence we received, there are at least three possible attitudes to the PRC that can be taken up in campaigning for seats in the direct LegCo elections on 15 September 1991:
■“in standing up for Hong Kong we should not be inhibited in criticising the PRC openly";
"the best deal for Hong Kong will come by accepting the reality of the situation, by avoiding open criticism of the PRC and by co-operating fully with the PRC";
"Hong Kong will be best able to develop constructive and healthy co-operation with the PRC if it has a thorough and active democracy in the territory."
3.3
Clearly different systems of election will affect each of these
ERS Delegation to Hong Kong Rant