HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL 11 December 1984
initialled and this was the restriction on the Green Paper, for instance, if we will have it before the draft agreement then we have to be very careful. After the Green Paper was published, then there was the draft agreement which said very clearly that there would be a LegCo and an ExCo and therefore in writing the White Paper, the Government should be more relaxed. But the Basic Law is what is the most important parameter for the future Government and since this has not been drafted, therefore, there is a restriction on the White Paper. After 1997, the Basic Law is what will rule Hong Kong. Under the circumstances, I think that for a Government servant to write the Green Paper and White Paper, I can realize his dilemma and difficulties and how it is difficult for him to put down certain words and recommendations. After talking about the restrictions, I can see a few advantages of the White Paper and this is purely as a comparison between the Green Paper and the White Paper and not as a matter of principle, the White Paper compared to the Green Paper has progressed by 3 years. Originally, in the Green Paper I think people have already thought about what will happen to the White Paper and they have regressed by 3 years in order to suit the White Paper. The second point is in the White Paper the attitude towards direct election is much more progressive and implies that in future there will be a number of directly elected LegCo members. The third point is civic education, this is the first time this subject is raised in Hong Kong and it is publicly recognized.
The bad point is that, in the White Paper, it reinforces the view that the functional constituency system should be installed. In Hong Kong the beauty is that we have an equal system, in Hong Kong when there is a strike, none of the strikers will say that they will attack and force the employers to be broke, people who have no housing do not want to see the Housing Authority go, people who cannot have medical services want them to be improved. This is just some dilemmas within the society but the White Paper, whereas in our society where there is no strata, has stratified our society by functional constituencies. For instance, if you are a labourer, then you will try to push forward your own views, also the people in commerce and industry will draft their political platforms in such a way as to get elected by their own members, and this will create further frictions and conflicts in society, and when they go to LegCo all those conflicts will be intensified. The White Paper, therefore, will be fatal to the harmony of society in Hong Kong, I hope that the existence of the functional constituencies is just an experiment by Hong Kong Government and after the review it will reduce the power of the functional constituencies. The second point is in the White Paper although the whole spirit is in support of direct elections, it will not agree that direct elections should be pursued. Although a lot of people, the majority of people, recognize that direct elections is the way to the future, and a lot of people before and after the publication of the White Paper want to see direct elections, the Government will not consider directly elected LegCo members. I do not understand how Government can talk about controversial issues like functional constituencies, a lot of people objected to this, but Government wanted to expand this idea, and concepts which are supported by the vast majority of people are not mentioned in the White Paper.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL 11 December 1984
Page 156 of 233
The third point is the role of the LegCo, and Representative Government is not just a matter of getting members but what the members will do in future, the spirit of the White Paper is to have members who can represent the public in order to decide on certain issues for the Government of Hong Kong, but in the White Paper, there is not even a word as to what the LegCo should do in future and its relationship to the Government. What about the role of the sub-committees of the LegCo and how the roles of these sub-committees will change in future? I hope that in future, these points will be clarified. The above is just my views on the White Paper. In general, Hong Kong should develop a democratic government and there are a few basic elements. First of all, its legislative structure should be democratically and directly elected. Secondly, the executive should be responsible to the legislative and these two points are very clearly laid out in the draft agreement, and I do not understand why the Hong Kong Government has such undue worries. The third point is every Government's system proposed to be changed here is not a substantive change, the best change is that there should be civic education and Hong Kong people should argue for more democratic systems. I think we must make democracy a way of life in Hong Kong and it must be seen to be a value to Hong Kong. In order to achieve democracy, we cannot just talk, talk is just a beginning but we must implement. We cannot stay at the level of theory we must implement the theories, but if we cannot implement, we must talk about theories, therefore, in the interim period I support the Chairman's remarks that the Hong Kong Government should in the historical transition have a clearly laid out plan to push Hong Kong towards a more democratic system. Thank you.
(Mr. Stephen M. L. LAC left at this point- 3.50 p.m.)
MR. LEE CHIK-YUET (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman,
A shortsighted White Paper—stopgap measures
The White Paper on Representative Government covers only the methods of selection of Legislative Council members in 1985, leaving all other issues to the 1987 review. It would seem more suitable that the subtitle of the White Paper be changed to 'The Next Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong' or 'The Stopgap Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong' instead of "The Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong.
Behind these stopgap arrangements, perhaps there is some foresight or some reason which could not be disclosed. However, as a White Paper, it is indisputably shortsighted and has failed to give a more clearly defined prospect of the development of the system of government in Hong Kong. Of course, at this complicated turning point of history, and while the Basic Law is yet to be enacted, we could not demand that the government immediately formulate a detailed, exact time schedule for political reforms and then strictly adhere to it.