TNAG-1442-FCO40-1926-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1986 — Page 91

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5.

and

legislation to the

the

government

The 10 official members present government proposals

draft

Council, account to

legislature on behalf of the Government for policies, and answer questions on those policies.

6.

As regards the future, one solution which has been suggested is that all appointed members should be withdrawn. from the legislature on a gradual basis. This would mean that after 1997, membership of the legislature would be confined to members chosen by direct election and/or electoral colleges and/or functional constituencies. As

officials, regards

neither the Chief Executive nor his

principal officials would be voting members, although they could appear before the legislature.

itself would thus have no equivalent of either the present appointed or official members.

7.

The legislature

This proposal might be workable, if it could be confidently assumed that the Chief Executive's policies, based as they would be on the fundamental policies of the

HKSAR set out in the Joint Declaration, could always be

expected to enjoy sufficient support in a council elected by direct, indirect or functional constituency methods. Such an assumption might be valid if the Chief Executive:

(a) were elected by the legislature

7(b) of paper II); or

(b)

the members

presented

of his

legislature for a vote of

paragraph 14 of paper II).

(see paragraph

executive to the

confidence (see

This confidence,

survive for the

however, would not necessarily

whole of the legislative session; or

(c)

chose the members of his executive from among

members of the legislature.

8.

If, however, the assumption in paragraph 7 above were not valid, and none of courses (a), (b) or (c) above were

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