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These are blatant attempts to manipulate the electoral functional constituency system and will turn the maligned elections into a complete farce, inviting further scorn and ridicule. These proposals should be rigorously condemned and repudiated.
Media leaks also revealed the British side has amended the Governor's original proposal by cutting down the number of voters covered by the nine new functional constituencies. Yet that was not enough to satisfy the Chinese Government.
Since so much time has been squandered, I want to know how much longer this saga will be allowed to drag on. If Britain and China cannot reach an agreement, the Governor should present his own proposals to Legco.
This should be followed by a lively public debate. To ensure the package would be fair, open and acceptable to Hong Kong people, the Government should conduct a referendum to test public acceptability.
The role of Executive Councillors in this controversy is disturbing. Since few Exco Members have expressed support for the Governor's constitutional package, the inevitable conclusion is that they oppose the reforms. One wonders what has happened to the concept of collective responsibility?
If Exco Members do not feel they could support such a fundamental government policy, they should do the honourable thing and resign. The Hong Kong Government should have a robust defend the and Exco which will publicly promote Administration's policies and be accountable to the public.
In deciding what package to put to Legco, I hope the Governor will have the courage to go for a fully directly elected Legco in 1995. Only by having direct elections through universal suffrage can Britain fulfill her international obligation under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
If Mr Patten will not advocate full universal suffrage, he should stick to proposals put forward last October because they were widely supported at the time. Even after months of virulent attacks by Peking, the proposals still command substantial public support and should not be abandoned.
In considering what proposals to put to Legco, the British Government should not be too pre-occupied with whether they can elected Legco. secure majority support within the partially
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