WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1980
10
+THE GREEN PAPER WAS NOT THE FIRST WORD ON THIS SUBJECT AND IT IS CERTAINLY NOT INTENDED TO BE THE LAST. BUT I HOPE THAT WHEN MODIFIED IN THE LIGHT OF PUBLIC COMMENT, IT WILL ENABLE US TO TAKE A SIGNIFICANT AND PRACTICAL STEP TOWARDS CLOSING THIS GAP BETWEEN PUBLIC AND THE GOVERNMENT AT DISTRICT LEVEL, HE SAID.
SIR MURRAY ALSO NOTED THAT THE GREEN PAPER HAD PROVOKED THOUGHTFUL COMMENT WHICH HAD BEEN CAREFULLY RECORDED AND STUDIED.
HE SAID DISCUSSION AND CRITICISM HAD FOCUSSED ON WHETHER THE POWERS OF THE DISTRICT BOARDS WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO COMMAND INTEREST, AND ON THE PROPORTION OF ELECTED TO APPOINTED MEMBERS AND WHETHER THERE SHOULD BE DIRECT ELECTION TO DISTRICT BOARDS IN THE URBAN AREAS AS WELL AS THE NEW TERRITORIES.
HE NOTED THAT WHILE THERE WAS MUCH SUPPORT FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF ADDING AN ELECTED ELEMENT, THERE WAS ALSO SUPPORT FOR THE RETENTION OF APPOINTED MEMBERSHIP AS WELL.
THERE APPEARED TO BE A VERY LARGE MEASURE OF SUPPORT FOR ELECTIONS ON A CONSTITUENCY RATHER THAN A COLONY-WIDE BASIS, AND IT DID NOT SEEM POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE THE LOCAL FOCUS AIMED AT BY ANY OTHER MEANS.
+SOME ADVOCATE RETAINING THE 10 CITY DISTRICT OFFICES RATHER THAN AMALGAMATING TWO DISTRICTS ON EACH SIDE OF THE HARBOUR. TWENTY-ONE HAS GENERALLY BEEN SUPPORTED AS THE RIGHT AGE FOR VOTING RIGHTS THOUGH SOME HAVE ARGUED FOR BOTH HIGHER AND LOWER AGES, AND SOME ALSO FOR EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS. BUT I NOTE A WIDE BAND OF OPINION WHICH CONSIDERS THREE YEARS' RESIDENCE TOO LITTLE IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES OF HONG KONG. SOME HAVE ARGUED THERE SHOULD BE MORE STRINGENT QUALIFICATIONS FOR CANDIDATES THAN VOTERS,+ SAID SIR MURRAY.
HE ALSO NOTED THAT THERE WERE COUNTER PROPOSALS FOR A TWO-TIER ELECTORAL SYSTEM IN THE URBAN AREA WHICH WOULD RETAIN THE EXISTING TERRITORY-WIDE URBAN COUNCIL ELECTIONS BUT WOULD BE AUGMENTED BY SEPARATE ELECTIONS FOR DISTRICT BOARDS WITH WHICH THE CANDIDATES WITH THE MOST VOTES HAVING A SEAT ON THE URBAN COUNCIL.
HE SAID ALL THESE VIEWS WERE NOW BEING CAREFULLY CONSIDERED.
GUANGDONG FOREIGN TRADE DIRECTOR TO VISIT HONG KONG ****
THE DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN TRADE IN GUANGDONG WILL VISIT HONG KONG LATER THIS MONTH, THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, ANNOUNCED TODAY (WEDNESDAY).
THE VISIT FOLLOWS ONE TO GUANGDONG LAST MAY BY A GROUP FROM HONG KONG LED BY SIR YUET-KEUNG KAN TO SEE HOW HONG KONG AND UNITED KINGDOM INTERESTS COULD CONTRIBUTE TO GUANGDONG'S DEVELOPMENT PLANS.
IN HIS OPENING ADDRESS TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, IR PRAY SAID HE BELIEVED THIS CLOSER CO-OPERATION ON ECONOMIC MATTERS WOULD BE WELCOMED BOTH N HONG KONG AND GUANGDONG.
/SINC-3-ITISH