TNAG-1597-FCO40-2182-Hong-Kong-1987-Review-of-Representative-Government-1987 — Page 48

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17.

The

concept of functional constituencies has

been criticised by some as promoting elitism and offering

certain sectors of the community an unwarranted advantage in

the process of selecting members to sit in the legislature.

On the whole, however, comments on the working of the

system, since the 1985 elections, have been favourable.

Such adverse comment as there has been has tended to focus

on the limited number of constituencies and the view that

they do not include all major sectors of the Hong Kong Sa

community.

18.

to

At the time of the 1985 elections, it was made clear

sectors which complained of being left out, that

would continue to be represented through the

appointment system. Notwithstanding, since the 1985

they

elections a number of professional bodies and organizations

have requested formal recognition as

constituency. (These are listed at Appendix

a functional

) There have

also been suggestions that the scope of some existing

constituencies could be increased in order either to absorb

sectors which are not now represented,

breadth of some existing constituencies.

or to increase the

Problems have

arisen, however, in some cases where the constituency is

already broadly based and where one group within the

constituency heavily outnumbers the others.

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