14.
The Hong Kong Government therefore sought to develop greater popular participation in public affairs through a network of consultation boards and committees, which provided advice on all areas of government activity. Elected
representation at local level was enhanced in 1973 with the establishment of the Urban Council, as a statutory body with financial autonomy and a mix of elected and appointed members. In 1982 the District Boards were established as statutory
bodies on a territory-wide basis. The development of the local administrative structure was completed in 1986, with the
establishment of the Regional Council with functions in the
rural areas comparable to those of the Urban Council.
Elections to a proportion of the seats on all these three
bodies were on a geographical constituency basis, with all
residents of 21 years or over who had lived in Hong Kong for 7 years having the vote.
b) 1984-1991
15. Two issues in particular stimulated demand for a faster pace of democratisation. First, the Sino-British negotiations
over the future of Hong Kong which culminated in the Joint
Declaration signed in 1984. Second, the events of Tiananmen
Square in 1989.
16.
The Joint Declaration set the broad framework for Hong
Kong's democratic development. It laid down that the
Legislature still fully appointed in 1984 would be
"constituted by elections" in 1997. With that framework in
place, the Hong Kong Government issued a Green Paper as a basis for public consultation on the next stage of development of representative government. The subsequent White Paper announced that membership of the 1985 Legislative Council would be increased from 46 to 56, that official membership would be reduced from 16 to 10 and appointed membership from
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