TNAG-1596-FCO40-2181-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 131

SEAABA

SECRET

NOTE 3

THE LEGISLATURE

1.

A number of issues regarding the relationship between the

Legislature and the Executive have been discussed in Note 2. This

note considers other issues relating to the Legislature including

its possible composition, term of office, presidency and powers and

functions.

COMPOSITION

2.

Section I of Annex I to the Joint Declaration provides that

"The Legislature of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

shall be constituted by elections".

3.

Paper II of May 1986 suggested that the methods of election, at least in general terms, would need to be specified in the Basic

Law.

Note 2 of October 1986 discussed possible ways of "validating"

the membership of the present groups of official and appointed

members in order to ensure that the Chief Executive continues to

enjoy sufficient support for his policies in the Legislature and

that government business is carried out efficiently.

4.

The existing Legislature comprises members elected or appointed by a variety of means. Having regard to the ideas which

are emerging in the process of the 1987 Review of developments in representative government and of consultation on the drafting of the Basic Law, it would seem that the Legislature of the future SAR

might comprise three main groups of elected members:

(a)

members elected by functional constituencies;

(b)

members elected by a system of elections based on geographic

constituencies, either on the present basis or by direct

elections:

SECRET