be accountable to the legislature; there should be a reappraisal of the machinery of Government; as a first step, the authority and responsibility of each Branch Secretary should have a written definition; a loyal and dedicated public service must be maintained, as a prerequisite to effective Government; localisation must be speeded up, but with maintenance of efficiency and stability of the entire civil service in mind; in preparation for political changes, the executive should be separated from the legislature; the question of restraining growth in the civil service must be dealt with systematically and reasonably but not dogmatically; Government should examine areas where privatisation would be more cost-effective; Government should consider reducing the size of the civil service by privatisation; size of civil service should be further reduced through streamlining and simplification of operations and procedures; fringe benefits for civil servants should be distributed more evenly; there should be a realistic review of fringe benefits, in particular, housing benefits and overseas education allowances; award of increments to civil servants should not be automatic; instead of fringe benefits, Government should consider offering direct benefits to civil servants; exchange of staff between the private sector and the civil service should be encouraged; continuing review of civil service should be made so as to take up any idle capacity.
The Future of Hong Kong Sino-British Agreement as a package is the best deal Hong Kong could possibly expect; Hong Kong British subjects who may not wish to stay permanently in Hong Kong after 1997 should be able to obtain a right of abode in the UK; for Hong Kong to achieve a fully and truly democratic system of Government in 13 years or less was too much to expect; a hastily developed democracy could be Hong Kong's worst enemy; priority must be given to maintaining a sound and healthy economy; economic decline detrimental to implementation of draft agreement; the community of Hong Kong needs a fundamental change in its attitude towards Government; Government needs to be responsive to public opinion, to criticism and to opposition with reasoned arguments; Government must show a willingness to consider change without being
forced into it; the transitional period up to 1997 should be divided into three periods, of four years each, with main concern for each period being the removal of political uncertainties, the drawing up of procedures for self- administration and the progressive transition towards SAR status; Government must uphold its authority during the run-up to 1997 and, at the same time, maintain the standard of living of the Hong Kong people; political changes should be progressive; we must establish mutual trust and understanding with China; the review for further development of representative Government in Hong Kong should be advanced from 1989 to 1987;not advisable to be too conservative in building a suitable political system for Hong Kong; Hong Kong should anticipate and respond to change; people of Hong Kong should be educated to understand their responsibilities through participation in social organisations and adherence to the democratic way of life; Government should take the initiative to improve contact with Workers Associations and Mutual Aid Committees, as organisations at grassroots level; more citizens should participate in elections and more dedicated citizens should offer themselves as leaders; the political structure for Hong Kong must ensure political stability, effective and efficient administration, continuous economic development and command its confidence of the general public; Hong Kong people must learn to be more civic minded, to understand the pros and cons of different political systems and appreciate their own rights and duties in society; gradual development, as outlined in the Green Paper for future constitutional development, supported; timing for direct elections should not be decided prematurely; a more open system of Government is crucial for achieving the goal of involving more people in the business of governing Hong Kong: as a first step towards more open Government, perhaps UMELCO panel meetings held to examine Government policy proposals of major public interest should be opened to the public; on ceasing to be District Board members, officials must continue to play an active role in District Board affairs; an effective link between District Boards and District Management Committees must be maintained; District Boards should be
consulted when strong public reaction is anticipated to a particular policy issue and the proposed Electronic Road Pricing scheme was such an issue; Government, District Boards and community organisations should encourage voters to vote; natural trend in moving towards the development of representative Government is a directly elected legislature; LegCo Members should be paid to work on a full time basis; a District Board member, once elected to LegCo, should relinquish his District Board membership; Government should speed up the further development of district administration and enhance the status of district organisations; primary task of Government is to ensure that nothing will disturb and upset the stability of Hong Kong in the period leading up to 1997; membership of LegCo should be enlarged, initially through indirect elections; our future leaders must be provided with training and the District Boards provide a good training ground for them; Government should encourage employers to allow their employees to serve on District Boards; the laws of Hong Kong should be consolidated and suitably amended, in preparation for 1997.
Education
Improve the standards of Chinese and English in schools; education policy should be reviewed to take account of future relationship with China; shortage of school places and teachers must be improved; J.S.E.A. should be abolished only if Form IV places are sufficient; priority should be given to the development of civic education, the teaching of Putonghua and the promotion of civic awareness; Government should take the lead in elevating the position and status of the Chinese language in Hong Kong; the City Polytechnic should be rapidly expanded, to provide more opportunities for tertiary education; review should be conducted with a view to introducing computer courses into all secondary as well as primary schools; civic education should be introduced in primary and secondary schools; special programmes should be introduced in universities to prepare students for the future development of Hong Kong; the establishment of a third university should be given higher priority; Government should ensure that there should be timely provision of
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