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give due weight to the opinions of the less vocal sections of the
population. It will be vital that the assessment mechanism should
be seen by the community as genuine and impartial.
The Main Issues to be Considered
10.
The 1987 1987
review will have to consider issues
"left over"
from the 1984 White Paper (para 7 above) as well as any new issues that may have arisen.
11.
At present we envisage that the principal issues on which
the views of the public are to be sought will be:
(i)
whether there should be further changes in the composition of
the Legislative Council, by introducing а system of direct
elections and/or altering the relative proportion of
appointed and elected members:
(ii) whether the Governor should continue to be President of the
Legislative Council.
Subsidiary issues to be
considered may include the roles and
relationships of the lower-level bodies: detailed electoral
procedures: and a possible lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18.
12.
noted
Where direct elections are concerned, the 1984 White Paper little evidence of support for their
for their immediate introduction.
It suggested that а cautious approach might involve introducing a
very small number of directly elected members in 1988.
The State of Opinion in Hong Kong on the 1987 Review
13.
The issue of direct elections continues to attract the
greatest public interest. Views are divided. Those strongly in
support of direct elections maintain they are the only way of ensuring the evolution of a genuinely representative government, capable of sustaining the "high degree of autonomy" provided for in
the Joint Declaration. Those against
against argue that the Hong Kong community is not ready for
such a development, which could be
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