c) The Governor's proposals, October 1992
13. The presence of 18 directly-elected members in the 1991
Legislative Council marked a further important step in the democratic development of Hong Kong. When Mr Patten arrived as Governor of Hong Kong in July 1992, there was a widespread view
in the community that this process should be taken further in
the last cycle of elections in Hong Kong under British sovereignty: those for the District Board due in September
1994, for the Municipal Councils in March 1995 and for the
Legislative Council in September 1995. There was intense speculation about the new Governor's policy on this. The
pressure of public expectations, as well as the practical need to set in place in good time the necessary arrangements for
these elections, meant that the Governor had to take action
soon after his arrival.
14. The Governor therefore set out his proposals for
political development in the years up to 1997 in his inaugural
address to the Legislative Council in October 1992 (the main
points are summarised in the chart at Annex 1). They were the result of wide ranging discussions in the community and had the full support of Her Majesty's Government. The simplest way to respond to the wish of the community in Hong Kong for greater
democracy would have been for the Chinese Government to agree to amend the Basic Law in order to provide for a faster rate of increase in the number of directly-elected seats.
Majesty's Government pressed the Chinese Government on several
occasions to take this step. But the Chinese side maintained
that the Basic Law could not be changed before it came into
effect in 1997. The Governor therefore decided, with the
support of Her Majesty's Government, to look for other ways of extending democratic participation, in conformity with the
terms of the Basic Law. Two weeks in advance of the Governor's
address, the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary informed the
Her
statement26.8/BRIEFS/NJH
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