TNAG-1724-FCO40-2437-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 70

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But the Survey Office Report also showed that

opinion in the community is sharply divided on whether

direct elections should be introduced in 1988 or later.

While there have been differing views on the

interpretation of the Survey results and on whether the

balance of opinion is for or against 1988, the fact

remains that there is a very real division of view on this

issue. No amount of argument which has been raised on

this subject can detract from this basic fact. The

division of views has been clearly demonstrated in debates

in this Council, in the Municipal Councils and in the District Boards. While signature campaigns, not

surprisingly, were one-sided, submissions from groups and

individuals also indicate sharply divided views and the

much discussed public opinion surveys show that views are

far from unanimous on the question of timing.

сар

In the light of this diversity of views within

the community, the government has considered very

carefully whether it would be right to go ahead to

introduce direct elections in 1988.

Exop

The introduction of direct elections into the

Legislative Council of government is a very significant

制 step. When we take this step, we must be quite certain

that we carry with us the whole-hearted support of the

community as a whole. We believe that if we were to

proceed with direct elections in 1988 we would have no