TNAG-1286-FCO40-16372-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong.-Part-2-of-2-1984 — Page 49

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DRAFT SPEECH BY HON WONG PO-YAN, OBE, JP ON UNOFFICIAL MEMBERS'S MOTION LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 2.8.84

Sir,

Since the announcement in this Council by Your

Excellency on 18th July 1984 on the Green Paper which deals with the further development of representative government in

Hong Kong, there has been much enthusiastic discussion in our

community. Naturally, there have been calls from some quarters

for direct elections. And today I would like to discuss the

pros and cons of direct election in our present circumstances.

If one accepts that the degree of success of a

government can be reflected by the extent the lives of its

citizens have been improved and enriched over the years, and 1

been

the extent their human rights have been preserved, it will be

accurate and fair to say that the Hong Kong Government has been

successful. This success can be attributed largely to the present system of administration which has facilitated the

immense achievements in the community in the last few decades.

Against this background, I agree to the fundamental spirit and the detailed suggestion of the Green Paper that any changes of the present system should only be carried out gradually and carefully. I also agree that there should be a review in 1988

of the position with a view to deciding what further

developments should be pursued.

Turning back to the frequently heard comment these

days that we should have earlier direct election to the

Legislative Council, I am concerned that this view seems to be

shared by people in many different sections of our community.

While this view should not be overlooked, I would like to

stress that it need to be studied carefully and in

perspective. Being a businessman, and a careful businessman,

have looked into the past records for guidelines on the steps to take regarding direct elections. Having studied the records

and statistics of the latest elections, Sir, I have come to the

conclusion that we are still too early to have direct elections

at this point in time.

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