PART III: ANALYSIS OF PROPOSALS PUT FORWARD DURING THE TALKS
39.
This part considers the various electoral proposals put forward by the British and Chinese sides against the essential requirements of Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong
Government: that the 1994-95 elections should be open, fair
and acceptable to the people of Hong Kong.
VOTING AGE
40. The Governor's proposal in October 1992 was that the
voting age should be reduced from 21 to 18 for all elections in
Hong Kong.
41.
The voting age is 18 in both the UK and the PRC, and this
proposal was widely supported in Hong Kong.
42. The Chinese side took no position on this issue until
Round 15, when they accepted that the voting age could be
lowered to 18 for all three tiers of elections.
ELIGIBILITY TO STAND FOR ELECTION
43.
The Chinese side proposed that Hong Kong law should be
changed to permit Hong Kong Deputies to the National People's
Congress and Hong Kong members of the China People's Political
Consultative Committee to serve in the Legislative Council and
District Organisations. But the prohibition on members of
other Parliaments and Councils should remain.
44.
The British side agreed in Round 14 that as part of an
agreed overall package, they would be willing to commend to the
Legislative Council an amendment to the law to permit People's
Congress Deputies to become members of the Legislative Council
and District Organisations. In Round 16 they offered to agree,
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