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THURSDAY, JULY 28, 1994
LEGCO'S CONSTITUENCY BOUNDARIES FOR PUBLIC CONSULTATION
HAS PROVISIONALLY
THE BOUNDARY AND ELECTION COMMISSION (BEC) DETERMINED THE BOUNDARIES OF THE 20 GEOGRAPHICAL CONSTITUENCIES FOR AND ARE INVITING THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL GENERAL ELECTIONS IN 1995 PUBLIC VIEWS.
CLOSE THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION WILL START TOMORROW (FRIDAY) AND
THE GOVERNOR BY ON AUGUST 27. THE FINAL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
THE BEC PROPOSES TO DEMARCATE FOUR CONSTITUENCIES ON HONG ISLAND, SEVEN IN KOWLOON AND NINE IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.
AT SPEAKING
KONG
A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY (THURSDAY) ON THE BOUNDARY DELINEATION AND THE LAUNCHING OF THE PUBLIC CONSULTATION, THE BEC CHAIRMAN, MR JUSTICE WOO KWOK-HING, SAID THE COMMISSION WAS FACED WITH TWO MAIN DIFFICULTIES WHEN DRAWING UP THE BOUNDARIES:
CONSIDERATIONS
OF
STRIKING A FAIR BALANCE BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY IDENTITIES AND PRESERVATION OF LOCAL TIES AGAINST THE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH THE POPULATION QUOTA; AND
DELINEATION OF THE
LEGCO CONSTITUENCIES
WITHIN
THE
STRAIT-JACKET OF THE FIXED NUMBER OF 20 CONSTITUENCIES.
THE
THE CHAIRMAN SAID THE LEGCO ELECTION, BEING THE HIGHEST OF THREE-TIER REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT, WOULD BE ON A LARGE REGIONAL BASIS, UNLIKE THE LOCALISED DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS.
THE POPULATION QUOTA FOR A LEGCO CONSTITUENCY IS ABOUT 300,000, 17 TIMES LARGER THAN THAT OF A DISTRICT BOARD CONSTITUENCY AND THREE TIMES OF THAT FOR A MUNICIPAL COUNCIL CONSTITUENCY.
"IN VIEW OF THE LARGE SIZE OF THE CONSTITUENCY, BY AREA AND BY POPULATION, MIXING OF COMMUNITIES WILL BE INEVITABLE. COMMUNITY IDENTITY CONSIDERATIONS ARE LESS DISTINCT AND OF LESS IMPORTANCE IN THE DELINEATION OF LEGCO CONSTITUENCIES," MR JUSTICE WOO SAID.
"EACH LEGCO CONSTITUENCY IS FORMED BY GROUPING A NUMBER OF DISTRICT BOARD CONSTITUENCIES TOGETHER.
"COHESIVENESS OF A LARGER NUMBER OF PEOPLE OR COMMUNITIES IS BOUND TO BE WEAKER. IT IS INEVITABLE THAT HETEROGENEITY OF COMMUNITIES WILL RESULT, HE ADDED.
"
IN ORDER TO RESPECT COMMUNITY IDENTITIES AND PRESERVE LOCAL TIES AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, A LEGCO CONSTITUENCY AREA WILL ONLY CONSIST OF DISTINCT BOARD CONSTITUENCIES FROM NOT MORE THAN TWO DISTRICTS.
THE CHAIRMAN SAID THE COMMISSION WAS ALSO OF THE VIEW THAT ONLY ADJOINING DISTRICTS SHOULD BE COMBINED TO FORM A CONSTITUENCY, NOT ONLY TO ALLEVIATE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS CAUSED BY DISTANCE, BUT ALSO BECAUSE THE COMMUNITIES OF NEIGHBOURING DISTRICTS WOULD LIKELY HAVE CLOSER TIES THAN THOSE SEPERATED BY SEA OR LARGE LAND MASSES.
/HE SAID