TNAG-1726-FCO40-2439-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 147

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CHIEF SECRETARY : Sir, in speaking

against the amendment proposed by Mr. LEE, I have remarked

on the undesirability of amendment motions having the

effect of focusing on particular aspects of the White

Paper, when the general debate gives the opportunity for

everyone to talk about everything. I must therefore

oppose the amendment proposed by Mr. SZETO on the same

grounds.

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:

Sir, the replacement in 1991 of district-based electoral college seats by directly

elected seats should not be looked at in isolation,

but should be viewed in the context of the overall

system of government, and in the context of the rationalisation

of the three-tier structure. As I explained yesterday

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and progressive development of a more representative

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when introducing this debate, the change from the

system of indirect to direct elections based on geographical constituencies, is a natural and progressive development.

The change is also entirely consistent with the rationalisation we are seeking to bring about to

the three-tier structure of our system of representative government. To have two parallel systems of geographical representation in the central council of government, with members elected by both direct and indirect methods, is not only unnecessary but also likely

to be problematic. It could well, for instance, give rise to invidious comparisons between the representative status of the two groups of members; both are supposed to represent the residents of their respective constituencies but each will probably claim to be more representative than the other.

MR. LEE has suggested, rather

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ingeniously, that there will be two different constituencies

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for people coming from the same district.

He overlooks