XN000022-1985-09-27 — Page 27

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+YOU HAVE INDUSTRIALISTS, YOU HAVE DOCTORS, YOU HAVE ACADEMICS, BUT ALL OF THEM, BECAUSE OF THEIR WIDE INVOLVEMENT IN DISTRICT BOARDS, HAVE A WIDE KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT GOES ON IN THE DISTRICTS AND WHAT MAKES LIFE TICK AT THE STREET LEVEL.

+THEY HAVEN'T GOT THEIR HEADS IN THE CLOUDS, SO THEY NOT ONLY BRING THE SORT OF THEIR WORKING BACKGROUND TO THE LEGCO, BUT THEY ALSO BRING THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF DISTRICT LIFE THROUGH THE DISTRICT BOARDS TO THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

+ I THINK THIS IS A VERY USEFUL MIXTURE OF EXPERIENCE,+ HE ADDED,

+PRETTY WELL A MILLION PEOPLE VOTED IN THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ELECTIONS TODAY REALLY REPRESENT A NARROWING DOWN OF THE FOCUS OF THE VOTES WHICH WERE CAST IN THE DISTRICT BOARD ELECTIONS EARLIER THIS YEAR.

+SO YOU HAVE A MILLION VOTES CAST EARLIER THIS YEAR, AND THEN TODAY THE ELECTIONS IN THE 10 ELECTORAL COLLEGES OF THE DISTRICT BOARDS.

+OVER THE EXPERIENCE OF THE LAST FEW WEEKS, WE HAVE I THINK SEEN A GROWING INTEREST IN THE ELECTIONS, A HEIGHTENED AWARENESS,

TO CANDIDATES HAVE EXPLAINED THEIR POLICIES AND THEIR PLATFORMS THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG,

+THERE HAS BEEN VERY KEEN INTEREST IN THE VARIOUS SEMINARS AND DEBATES, AND DISCUSSIONS ON THE RADIO AND TELEVISION DURING THIS PERIOD.

+1 THINK THIS TOO HAS BEEN VERY GRATIFYING.+

ASKED WHETHER THE AVERAGE TURNOUT WAS DISAPPOINTING, SIR DAVID SAID THAT ALTHOUGH THE AVERAGE WAS ONLY 57 PER CENT AT THIS MOMENT, THE AVERAGE WAS A WEIGHTED AVERAGE BECAUSE THE EDUCATION

CONSTITUENCY WHICH WAS A VERY LARGE CONSTITUENCY TENDED TO DISTORT THE RESULTS IN THE OTHER CONSTITUENCIES, MOST OF WHICH WERE INDEED VERY HIGH, SOME OF THEM NEARING 100 PER CENT.

+MOREOVER, THE FACT THAT OVER 15 000 TEACHERS TURNED UP TO

VOTE TODAY IS A VERY SATISFACTORY RESULT, HE SAID.

QUESTIONED IF THE GOVERNMENT HAD ANY PARTICULAR TYPES OF PEOPLE IN MIND IN THE ELECTIONS, HE SAID THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAD NO FIXED IDEA ABOUT WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE IT WANTED TO SEE ELECTED.

+WE WANT TO SEE PEOPLE SUPPORT THE ELECTIONS, HE SAID.

IN REPLY TO A QUESTION ABOUT THE FUTURE ELECTIONS, SIR DAVID SAID, I DON'T THINK WE CAN MAKE ANY SNAP JUDGEMENTS TODAY ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IN THE REVIEW IN 1987 OR IN THE 1988 ELECTIONS.+

/+I WOULD