XN000022-1987-11-18 — Page 23

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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1987

"OR ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE THEIR FEELINGS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO COMPEL THEM TO MR HO ASKED.

STATUS

QUO, ARE

ASK FOR CHANGE?"

ASSUMPTIONS SHOWN THAT HONG KONG AND MAKE THE IR VOICES

WERE

ALL THREE OF THESE HE, HIMSELF, BELIEVED

IN RECENT VALID AS DEVELOPMENTS

YEARS HAD PEOPLE WOULD NOT LONGER HESITATE TO STAND UP HEARD IF THEY HAD A GRIEVANCE.

BE TAKEN

AS A

DO

GREEN PAPER CAN "THEIR SILENCE TOWARDS THE STRONG INDICATION THAT THEY ARE SATISIFIED WITH THE STATUS QUO AND NOT WANT TO RISK ANY HASTY AND UNNECESSARY CHANGE," MR HO SAID.

"THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ARE PRAGMATIC AND PRUDENT.

WILL

NOT

"THEY VALUE THE PRESENT STABILITY AND PROSPERITY AND CALL FOR CHANGES JUST FOR THE SAKE OF CHANGING, HE CONTINUED.

HE CALLED ON THE

TO TAKE THE SAME APPROACH ASSESSING THE FINDINGS OF THE SURVEY OFFICE.

GOVERNMENT

IN

EARLIER, MR HO SAID THE CONSULTATION EXERCISE

OF DESCRIBED AS A SUCCESS IN TERMS

QUANTITY AS SUBMISSIONS HAD BEEN RECEIVED BY THE SURVEY OFFICE.

COULD

BE

MORE

THAN 130,000

PUBLIC

RESPONSES TOWARDS COMPARED то THOSE ON DIRECT

THAT HOWEVER, IT WAS DISAPPOINTING OTHER ISSUES WERE ELECTIONS.

RELATIVELY SCARCE

THIS RESPECT, COULD

ONLY

BE

IN THE 1987 POLITICAL REVIEW, DESCRIBED AS A PARTIAL SUCCESS, MR HO SAID,

SURVEY EXERCISE HAD NEVERTHELESS, HE STILL BELIEVED THAT THE

THE PROVIDED A VALUABLE INDICATION AS TO THE NEXT STEP TO BE TAKEN IN DEVELOPMENT OF GOVERNMENT.

THE IN THE FOR

HE SAID IF THE SCOPE WAS WIDENED TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION

SURVEYS ALL THE PROFESSIONALLY CONDUCTED OPINION

TOGETHER WITH SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED, ANALYSTS COULD STILL FIND A CLEAR TREND

WHICH WAS THAT THERE WAS NO OVERWHELMING DEMAND PUBLIC'S MIND HASTY CHANGES.

THE "THIS APPLIES TO MOST ASPECTS OF

GOVERNMENT

ADDED.

SYSTEM,

HE

ON THE QUESTION OF DIRECT ELECTIONS, EVEN IF THE AGB MCNAIR SECTOR SURVEY WAS DISREGARDED, NINE SURVEYS UNDERTAKEN BY THE PRIVATE

ELEMENT OF INDICATED THAT ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A STRONG SUPPORT FOR AN

TO DIRECT ELECTION

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, THERE WAS NOT AN OVERWHELMING DESIRE TO INTRODUCE IT IN 1988, HE ADDED.

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