2.16 Views of the community are obtained by the representative bodies through attendance at seminars, district discussion groups and informal meetings or meet-the-public sessions. These activities, organized by different sectors of the community and on different scales of public participation provide an effective way of bringing together the range of views expressed.
2.17 Public statements on the White Paper were made by the Executive Council, the Legislative Council, the Urban Council, the Heung Yee Kuk and the eighteen District Boards. The full texts of statements and debates and notes of discussions at District Board meetings are available for public reference. A summary of the debate in the Legislative Council is at Appendix V.
(C) Organisations and Other Groups
2.18 There is a network of organizations and groups throughout every level of society in Hong Kong. Although they differ in membership and influence, together, they cover virtually every sector of the community. Most influential organizations have either written to the Office, or have made statements to the media. They include professional bodies, business, educa- tion, Civil Service, financial and industrial associations, religious groups, pressure groups, community and traditional bodies, trade unions, associations of residents and welfare organizations.
2.19 679 organizations and groups presented their views in writing to the Office. Of this number 430 were from properly constituted organizations writing in to express the views of the members they represent; 249 were from groups of individuals whose views had been collected together by, for example, the management of a firm, the head of a government department, the headmistress of a school, the staff of a voluntary agency and sent in as a batch to the Office. In some cases, groups of individuals from the same area All or with a common background used questionnaires or stencilled letters. these were treated as single group submissions.
2.20 Many organizations took great care in obtaining the views of their members and in preparing carefully worded statements. A list of the organizations which have not objected to their names being published is at Appendix VI. Separately, copies of the submissions from organizations which have agreed to their publication are available for public reference. An explanatory note on trade unions, the religious community and traditional bodies in Hong Kong is at Appendix VII.
(D) Letters from Individuals
2.21 Letters from individual members of the public came from all sections of the community including professionals, academics, housewives, students and factory workers. Many of them were written in great detail and contained thoughtfully expressed views on every aspect of the draft agreement. The Office received 1,815() letters from this source. As sugges- ted in some newspapers(5) people would not write in if they found the draft agreement acceptable; nor would they find it necessary to write in if their
(*) Of this number 181 were anonymous and 179 were either irrelevant or duplicate. (5) Hong Kong Daily News 31.10.84, Wah Kiu Yat Po 4. and 7.11.84.
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