2
·
ONE LAST IMPRESSION AND, THAT IS, GOING AROUND EVEN IN THE PERIOD OF SEVEN WEEKS, I AM VERY STRUCK INDEED BY THE AMOUNT OF TIME PEOPLE SPEND IN HONG KONG, DEVOTED TO PUBLIC AFFAIRS. AND I AM THINKING HERE, NOT JUST OF PEOPLE IN THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL, THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, THE MUNICIPAL COUNCILS, THE DISTRICT BOARDS - WHICH GET A GOOD DEAL OF PUBLICITY BÚT AT A MUCH LOWER LEVEL, GETTING DOWN TO ADVISORY BOARDS, AREA COMMITTEES, MUTUAL AID COMMITTEES.
-
AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF VERY VALUABLE WORK IS DONE BY A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG. I FIND THAT VERY IMPRESSIVE.
IT GOES, I THINK, WITH A SYSTEM WHICH HAS GROWN UP OVER THE YEARS, WHERE THAT HAPPENS AND WHERE THERE IS ALSO CONSULTATION AND CONSULTATION IS, OF COURSE, WHAT WE ARE JUST EMBARKING UPON IN THE PROCESS OF DISCUSSING THE GREEN PAPER, WHICH WAS PUBLISHED TWO DAYS AGO.
WITH THOSE FEW INITIAL IMPRESSIONS, MAY I SAY THAT I SHALL BE HAPPY TO TRY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE GOT.
Q: SALLY BLYTH (RTHK), SIR DAVID, THE 1984 WHITE PAPER ON THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT STATES IN ITS CONCLUSIONS THAT ON THE QUESTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS - AND I QUOTE, THE BULK OF PUBLIC RESPONSE FAVOURED A CAUTIOUS APPROACH WITH A GRADUAL START. BY INTRODUCING A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF DIRECTLY ELECTED MEMBERS IN 1988 AND BUILDING UP TO A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER BY 1997.+ THE GOVERNMENT'S GREEN PAPER THIS WEEK FAILS TO MENTION THESE CONCLUSIONS. THE 1984 WHITE PAPER WAS MEANT TO POINT THE WAY FORWARD, IS THE GOVERNMENT NOW SWEEPING ITS ENTIRE CONTENTS UNDER THE CARPET?
+
A: THE SHORT ANSWER IS +NO+. BUT LET ME EXPAND ON THAT.
THE 1984 WHITE PAPER HAD ONE KEY SECTOR IN ITS DECISIONS AND THAT WAS, TO INTRODUCE FOR THE FIRST TIME, AN ELEMENT OF INDIRECT ELECTIONS TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. THAT WAS A VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT WHICH HONG KONG HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD. THAT, OF COURSE, HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED. WE HAVE BEEN LIVING WITH THE NEW SYSTEM FOR JUST OVER A YEAR AND A HALF.
ANOTHER POINT WHICH WAS MADE IN THE CONCLUSIONS TO THE WHITE PAPER WAS THAT THE QUESTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS WOULD BE FURTHER CONSIDERED IN THE CONTEXT OF A REVIEW WHICH WAS PUT TO 1987, INSTEAD OF THE ORIGINAL PROPOSAL. THAT, OF COURSE, IS THE REVIEW WHICH WE ARE NOW EMBARKED ON. SO THAT HAS BEEN CARRIED OUT EXACTLY.
/Q: BERNARD FONG