TNAG-1726-FCO40-2439-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 68

that the administration should not use the pretext of divided public opinion to turn down direct elections in 1988, and to disregard the views of more than half of various members of various

boards and commeil.

in that introduce stein Be Secondly, a delay of direct elections

the

system.

is going against the principles of human rights and fairness. Thirdly, gegarding the AGB McNair survey, format has now been

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and yet

rejected by most of the professionals, Nevertheless, the administration still insists to take the findings.

MR, DESMOND LEE:

X

agree

a clap c

A

Sir, I rise to give support

to the amendment which is now moved before this Council. I

accept that there is divided opinion among our community as to the introduction of direct election by 1988, but it is in this very situation that our Government should show determination and leadership.

In the dar 1984, a Green Paper was published in July for the future development of representative government in Hong Kong, following which the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong was released to the public in September. The Joint Declaration was formulated

through diplomatic, negotiations between Britain and China. The people of Hong Kong was not directly represented because China did not approve of a three-legged stool approach. When the Assessment Office was formed to collect the views of Hong

Kong people about the Joint Declaration, people indicated acceptance on the understanding that a representative government 26 would be developed in the true meaning of the term and that

there would be a completely elected legislature by 1997 with related developments towards democracy.

The Green Paper depicted a representative government which led people to believe that it would develop into a full system containing an option to abolish appointed members of the Legislative Council by 1997, elections to the Executive Council and even ministerial functions of elected representatives. Many people in Hong Kong have accepted the Joint Declaration in the trust that the Government was committed to

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democratisation.

is

a process of

It now turns out that the original intentions