THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN HONG KONG
Appointed Unofficial Members
45
19. It was proposed in the Green Paper that the number of appointed unofficial members should be reduced progressively to 23 in 1985 and 16 in 1988. Public comment on this proposal varied widely from support for the retention of appointed unofficial members indefinitely to suggestions that they should be removed from the council completely as soon as possible.
20. If an element of continuity is to be maintained in the Legislative Council it would be unwise to reduce appreciably or too hastily the number of appointed members at this stage, for their experience in the workings of the council should not be lost. The introduction of 24 elected members into a council of the present size would require a significant reduction in the number of appointed unofficial members. It has therefore been decided to increase the overall size of the council to 56 and to reduce the number of appointed unofficial members to 22 in 1985. The increase in the overall size of the council is supported by the public view that the council should be larger in order to meet the wide and diverse needs of present-day Hong Kong.
Official Members
21. It was proposed in the Green Paper that the three ex-officio members of the Legislative Council, the Chief Secretary, the Financial Secretary and the Attorney General, should remain on the council, but that the overall number of official members should be reduced progressively to 13 in 1985 and 10 in 1988.
22. The general view was in favour of this proposal. It is now intended that the reduction to 10 will take place in 1985 in line with the increase in the number of elected members. This will still allow for a reasonable number of officials to remain in the Legislative Council at this stage to assist in the conduct of the business of the council.
The Composition of the Legislative Council
23. The composition of the Legislative Council in 1985 and 1988 proposed in the Green Paper was as follows:
(a) Elected by electoral college
(b) Elected by functional constituencies
(c) Appointed by the Governor
(d) Official members
Total
1985
1988
6
12
6
12
23
16
13
10
48
50
24. As a result of the changes which have been made to the original proposals, the composition of the council in 1985 will now be as set out below. The additional seats required to cater for the increase in elected membership have been partially offset by a small reduction in seats for appointed and official members.
(a) Elected by electoral college
(b) Elected by functional constituencies
(c) Appointed by the Governor (d) Official members
1985
12
12
22
10
Total
56