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as people may think we are. It also takes quite a bit of time
It took me until to make up your mind to go out on a limb. February 1984 before I really said what was on my mind regarding the Agreement then being negotiated between the UK and China about Hong Kong. It took T.S. Lo another six months after that and Martin Lee didn't start speaking out until almost a year after the Agreement was signed.
So why do we now need political parties and direct elections??
When there are no political parties anyone, with or without public support, can set himself up as a pressure group.
And so
we now have dozens of pressure groups with no-one really aware of how much support these pressure groups have. Yet people in power per force have to listen with care to such pressure groups who may really only be speaking for a couple of dozen members. This situation can give a completely lopsided view of what the majority of Hong Kong Citizens really think or want. The claims by so many of the pressure groups to represent the grass roots often cannot be verified. It is very important that the silent majority are represented in the decision making process because without having them on our side we will eventually build up an explosive situation. However, my experience is that most of those who claim to represent grass roots, represent only a few clumps of fairly withered grass, so it is very difficult to tell how much support there really is for any view advanced by someone who claims to represent the "common man and woman". This sort of ambivalence and uncertainty would be resolved very quickly if we had political parties (in the meantime I appeal to the press, the radio, and TV, who are mostly represented by very young journalists, to research the situation more deeply and not just simply report what a pressure group is saying without also reporting what sort of support this particular pressure group has, how much of the population it represents, etc. etc.).
Without political parties very small pressure groups such as lawyers or tycoons can gain disproportionate influence.
Inside a political party people feel strengthened and are much more likely to speak their mind and thus give straight advice to the Basic Law Committees, and, incidentally, that advice must be
to stick to the letter of the law. Too many people are
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