HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The Basic Law is not only the law of Hong Kong, but also the law of China. Since the Basic Law is the 'mini-constitution' of Hong Kong, everyone in Hong Kong should be concerned with it and should not give up all hope too early. In this connection, we hope that Hong Kong people can grasp this chance and take up this challenge so as to identify a common ground and then put forward their views for China's consideration.
This is also a challenge to the Hong Kong British government. We can see whether it can lead Hong Kong people to put forward their own views and then hold discussions with China and convince China that this is the Basic Law Hong Kong people need.
The Basic Law is also a challenge to the Chinese leaders. It will test whether China is broad-minded enough and does try to understand the real need of Hong Kong people with an open mind. China should then give Hong Kong the unprecedented, genuine and high degree of autonomy so as to honour its commitment to 'one country, two systems' and 'Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong' and let Hong Kong people know that our requests can be acceded to.
I would like to talk about my views on recent discussions on the development of the political structure. The OMELCO has already put forward its consensus which is derived from prolonged discussions among Legco members. I support several points of the OMELCO model. Firstly, there will be further development of the representative government in 1991, i.e. one-third of the seats in the Legislative Council will be directly elected while another one-third will be appointed and official members; directly elected seats will be gradually increased in 1995 and 1999; and all seats will be returned by direct elections in the end. The Sino-British Joint Declaration stipulated that the future legislature of the Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by elections.
Another desirable point about this consensus is that we can clearly see that Hong Kong is heading for the selection of its Chief Executive and members of its Legislature through general election in the future. Only with such a political system can we say that the Executive Authorities are accountable to the Legislature and that it is completely in line with the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
There is good progress at present. The industrial and commercial sector, the Democrats and the middle-of-the-roaders comprising mainly academics, all make concerted efforts to compromise in order to seek a new consensus. The next step is to call a joint meeting to seek a new compromise model. I hope that the three parties concerned will then be able to reach a consensus to be submitted to the Drafting Committee for consideration. I hope Hong Kong people will continue to express more views. If the public at large support this consensus, we should also express our support to it. The genuine consensus of Hong Kong is one that is fully supported by all citizens in Hong Kong. It will finally be at China's discretion to adopt it. If China is magnanimous enough,
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
it will of course accept the genuine and unanimous demand of Hong Kong people. Hong Kong people will then genuinely believe that Hong Kong has a promising future. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
MR. RONNIE WONG MAN-CHIU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, the period of final consultation on the Basic Law will expire by the end of October. Although many chapters and sections of the draft are basically acceptable, there are still controversies regarding the political structure. Before discussing which political model is better, we should first understand the basic principles of a good model. It should be stipulated in such a model that the political system should develop in a gradually progressive manner; it should be a system based on past experience; and it must take into account benefits of every social stratum. Most important of all, it should be able to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. Another important point is that the model formulated should be acceptable to both China and Hong Kong,
The 'bicameral model', I believe, totally conforms to the principles mentioned above. If we take a good look at the model, we will discover that the bicameral system suggested to be formed after 1997 is, in fact, a continuation of the existing Legislative Council. The only difference is the suggested abolition of the existing official and appointed seats. After 1997, Councillors will be elected through direct election and elections by district organizations and functional constituencies. This conforms to the first principle of gradual and progressive development I have just mentioned.
Furthermore, this is considered to be the best model if we value the importance of past achievements. The existing political model of Hong Kong is, in fact, a good one, but since it is stipulated in the Sino-British Joint Declaration that the Legislature of the future Special Administrative Region shall be constituted by election, ex-officio and appointed members shall of course be eliminated. The 'bicameral model' is designed on the basis of the merit of the existing Legislative Council.
In regard to the third principle of taking care of the interests of all social strata, it is obvious that this can be achieved in the existence of the functional constituencies.
It is understood that the objective of the 'bicameral model' is to maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity as all factors contributing to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, namely the commercial and industrial sector, and professionals such as lawyers, accountants or medical personnel, are all included in the functional constituencies.
Many people are under the wrong impression that most of the members of functional constituencies come from the industrial and commercial sectors. In fact, it is not so. Many of these members come from the grass roots level. It will be impossible for Hong Kong to prosper only with the help of capitalists without the assistance of people at the grass roots level. If professionals with their expertise are not present in Hong Kong, Hong Kong will not be able to
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