by the Hong Kong Government before 1997, if the objective of continuity and a smooth transition of government institutions is to be achieved.
19. The review of developments in representative government took place in 1987. It generated considerable public interest. The Hong Kong Government published a further Green Paper. After extensive public debate, the resulting 1988 White Paper concluded that although there was wide support in the community for the principle of some directly-elected members in the Legislative Council, opinion was sharply divided as to the timing of their introduction. The Hong Kong Government decided to postpone the introduction of
directly-elected members to the Council until 1991, in order
to allow the changes introduced in 1985 to settle down
further. The White Paper recommended an increase in the number of functional constituency seats in 1988 and the
introduction of 10 directly-elected seats in 1991.
20.
The events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 had a
profound effect on Hong Kong opinion. This reaction in turn reinforced in the Chinese leadership a deep-seated mistrust of democracy in Hong Kong. These events strengthened support in Hong Kong for a faster pace of democracy than that laid down in the 1988 White Paper. In July 1989 the unofficial members
of the Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) recommended
that one third of the Legislative Council should be
directly-elected in 1991 (ie 20 seats) and not less than 50%
in 1995 (ie 30 seats). This became known as the OMELCO
consensus. Senior members of OMELCO came to London to press Her Majesty's Government to implement it.
21.
This posed in acute form the problem of how to reconcile the clear wishes of the community for a faster pace of democratisation with the equally strong interest in continuity
statement26.8/BRIEFS/NJH
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