District Board Members should be elected to the Legco and what should
be the composition of the Legco. Also, they would review the position
of the Governor as Legco Chairman, the Governor's term of reference,
the development of the Exco and the setting up of a monitoring and
supervisory system along the lines of a ministerial system.
Mr Thomas pointed out that the ministerial system was a system
adopted by the British Parliament and he did not see any resemblance between Hong Kong's Legislative Council and the British Parliament.
Mr Thomas' view came quite close to that held by the elite
members of the Exco and Legco. In their view, Hong Kong's existing
political system should be changed. Moreover, attempts should be made to change the powers of the Governor and the Exco to make them come under the control of the Legco rather than to continue with the present situation under which the Legco is subordinate to the Governor.
At a meet-the-media session at the Information Services Department held on 16 October, the Deputy Chief Secretary, Mr Alan Scott, reiterated the views expressed earlier by Mr Thomas. He repeated that when the Green Paper on political reforms is published in 1987, a review would be made on the composition and ratio of members in the Legco, the role of the central government, the position of the Governor as Legco chairman,
Mr Scott further as well as the relationship between Exco and Legco. indicated that political reform was the Hong Kong Government's own
He said, affair and therefore it was unnecessary to consult China. "If a sort of ministerial system is implemented in Hong Kong in future under which the decision-makers in the government will be elected by the Legco, such a measure will not go against the provisions of the Joint Declaration regarding arrangements for the principal officers of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, " ".....this is because, technically speaking, nominating the officials is one thing and how the nominators (government officials) reach a decision is another thing. In this regard, principal officials may be chosen either through consultation or by elections in the Legco". He also said, "the proposal put forward by the Green Paper published last year" to develop progressively
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