would be to define them so that they included the entire working
population. On that basis, the Governor proposed nine
constituencies based on the existing classification of
industrial and commercial sectors.
71. The Chinese side's proposals, put forward in Round 6 of
the negotiations, were that the composition and voting method of the existing 21 functional constituencies should remain
precisely as they were in 1991, retaining the concept of corporate voting. They proposed that the nine new functional
constituencies should be: the Hong Kong/Chinese Enterprises
Association; one extra seat for the existing Labour FC; agriculture and fisheries; textiles and garments; Importers and Exporters Association; Kai Fong Welfare Associations; insurance; maritime; and sports. These constituencies should also be based on corporate voting.
72. In the view of Her Majesty's Government and the Hong Kong Government, the Chinese side's proposals would not deal
adequately with the problems associated with corporate voting
and very small constituencies (the total franchise under their
proposals would be about 140,000). Some of their specific
proposals also failed to meet the requirements for functional
constituencies. Kai Fong Associations are not economic or
professional groups of importance in the community. They would in any case yield a tiny functional constituency since there are
only some 50 such associations in Hong Kong. The proposal for a Chinese Enterprises Association constituency is inconsistent
with Hong Kong's general approach of treating all investors and
enterprises in the same way, regardless of national origin. It
could be divisive to create constituencies on the basis of
"national" interests rather than economic and professional
groups. Many Chinese enterprises are already registered
electors in other functional constituencies. The Chinese
proposal for an Insurance Functional Constituency could only be
statement26.8/BRIEFS/NJH
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