XN000022-1993-10-07 — Page 27

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1993

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UNDER THE BASIC LAW, THE NUMBER OF LEGISLATORS WHO ARE DIRECTLY ELECTED FROM GEOGRAPHICAL CONSTITUENCIES STEADILY INCREASES AND THERE IS PROVISION IN THE BASIC LAW IN THE FUTURE FOR ALL MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO BE DIRECTLY ELECTED IN THAT WAY. BUT FOR THE TIME BEING WE ARE BOUND INTO A SYSTEM IN WHICH A LARGE NUMBER OF MEMBERS ARE ELECTED FROM FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES.

NOW, THERE ARE TWO PARTICULAR ANXIETIES WHICH PEOPLE - I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY ARE YOUR ANXIETIES BUT THERE ARE TWO PARTICULAR ANXIETIES WHICH PEOPLE EXPRESS ABOUT THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES. FIRST, THEY SAY, THAT UNDER THE PRESENT SYSTEM, WHILE MOST PEOPLE JUST HAVE ONE VOTE, SOME PEOPLE HAVE TWO VOTES OR MORE VOTES BECAUSE OF THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCY SYSTEM. SECONDLY, IT'S ALSO ARGUED THAT SOME OF THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES ARE SO SMALL THAT UNFORTUNATELY THEY CAN LEAD TOO EASILY TO CORRUPT OR UNFAIR ELECTORAL PRACTICES. FOR THOSE REASONS, WE ARE DETERMINED ΤΟ ENSURE THAT THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES, WHILE RETAINING THE SPIRIT BEHIND THEM, ARE AS BROADLY DRAWN AS POSSIBLE AND INVOLVE AS MANY INDIVIDUALS AS POSSIBLE.

SO WE ARE IN FAVOUR OF INDIVIDUALS VOTING IN FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES, NOT CORPORATE VOTING IN FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES. NOW, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT'S NOT GOING TO SATISFY YOU BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THE SYSTEM OF FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCIES IN PRINCIPLE. I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. I HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE TERMS OF THE JOINT DECLARATION AND THE BASIC LAW. BUT WHAT I CAN TRY TO DO IS ΤΟ ENSURE THAT THE FUNCTIONAL CONSTITUENCY OPERATE IN AS FAIR A WAY AS POSSIBLE AND THAT'S WHAT I AM DETERMINED TO ATTEMPT.

QUESTION:

THANK YOU, MR PATTEN. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FORUM, YOU TOLD US ABOUT THE TWO PROMISES YOU MADE LAST YEAR WHEN YOU CAME TO SHA TIN, AND YOU GAVE US AN IMPRESSION THAT YOUR BEHAVIOUR AND YOUR WORDS MATCHED. BUT IN YOUR POLICY SPEECH, I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE DONE So. YOU HAVE TALKED ABOUT DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE AND YOU MENTIONED THAT THE EXECUTIVE SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE LEGISLATURE, BUT I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE IMPLEMENTED THIS IN FULL. FOR EXAMPLE, THE RICH HOUSEHOLD POLICY OF THE PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES, YOU DID NOT

DO

WHAT THE LEGCO MEMBERS AGREED ON, SO YOU HAVEN'T DONE ACCORDING TO LEGCO'S WISHES.

AND THE SECOND THING IS ON SINO-HONG KONG RELATIONS. YOUR PREDECESSORS HAVE BUILT UP QUITE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THIS RELATIONSHIP HAS BECOME SO TENSE SINCE YOUR ARRIVAL. I DON'T THINK IT IS DUE TO A CHANGE OF THE CHINESE POLICY, IT WAS DUE TO A CHANGE OF THE BRITISH POLICY. AND YOU SAID IN YOUR POLICY SPEECH THAT YOU WISH TO IMPROVE SINO-HONG KONG RELATIONS, BUT WHAT YOU DID, 1 DON'T THINK YOU HAVE SINCERITY.

GOVERNOR:

LET ME START WITH DOUBLE-RENT POLICY WHICH YOU REFERRED TO,

AND JUST SAY A WORD OR TWO ABOUT THE EXECUTIVE BEING ACCOUNTABLE ΤΟ THE LEGISLATURE, WHICH IS PERHAPS A CONCEPT BETTER UNDERSTOOD IN OUR SYSTEM THAN IN ONE OR TWO OTHER SYSTEMS CLOSE BY. WHAT YOU WERE SUGGESTING WAS THAT THE GOVERNMENT IN ANY SOCIETY SHOULD ALWAYS AGREE WITH AND ALWAYS DO WHATEVER THE LEGISLATURE SUGGESTS, THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL HAS VOTED, BY A SUBSTANTIAL MARGIN, IN FAVOUR OF THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSALS ON POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT. So, UNDER YOUR ARGUMENT, WE SHOULDN'T TAKE ANY OTHER CONSIDERATIONS INTO ACCOUNT BUT WE SHOULD GO STRAIGHT AHEAD AND IMPLEMENT THE LEGISLATION ORIGINALLY PROPOSED FOR THE ELECTIONS IN 1994 AND

1995. CLINTON HAS TO ACCOUNT TO HIS LEGISLATURE, BUT YOU WILL HAVE NOTICED HE DOESN'T ALWAYS AGREE WITH IT IN EVERY DETAIL.

WHICH WE PRESIDENT

/ON THE