7.
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I suggest that that speech would make a very good basis for a campaign to persuade the people of Hong Kong to participate in whatever elective system we devise. Unless a representative system already emerges from the proposals in the Green Paper, we may well then end up regretting that we sought to develop the
present system.
8.
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The
We must not underrate the magnitude of the task. people of Hong Kong are just as concerned as others elsewhere about what their Government is up to but, in the past, they have an elective system not seen let alone been encouraged to see as the means by which they can make their concerns known or to bring about changes. There will need to be a major change in public attitudes.
9.
Turning now to the second element of the first aim of the proposals in the Green Paper: how best to ensure that the views of the community are represented in any reform of the present system. Again, the importance of the electorate
But what sort of exercising their right to vote is obvious.
That is the voting system would best serve the public interest? question. Here I must admit I share the doubts of those who believe we would be unwise to jump straight into direct elections. Yet, I must also admit that, more recently, I have wondered if the proposals we are now considering sufficiently emphasise that we are moving away from the system of nomination. We are proposing that, until 1988, there should be only 12 elected members out of 48 in our Legislative Council and that only 6 of them should be elected by an electoral college of only 430 people, not all of whom will necessarily themselves be directly elected members of the Urban Council and District Boards. I support the step by step approach, but we can only hope to get a high level of public participation in, and support for, these proposals if we emphasise that this is but a first step in an exercise designed to achieve a majority of elected members in the Legislative Council.
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