TNAG-1727-FCO40-2440-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 164

6

cent

per

le

It is because, and only because of this sharp

division of views on timing that the Government has

- concluded that it would not be right to introduce direct

elections in 1988. Direct elections to the legislature

represent a major constitutional change. The Government

must therefore be sure that their introduction has the

clear support of the community as a whole. We could not

be sure that there was such support for direct elections

three in 1988. And we must not forget that it was only years

ago that we last made a major change: the introduction,

for the first time, of 24 elected members, representing

over 40% of the membership of this Council.

Sir

Keriticism

Slyears

has been levelled at the two opinion

surveys conducted by AGB McNair HK Ltd. As I have said in

this Council

Council o on two previous occasions, there are

inevitably different judgments on how surveys of this

nature should be conducted. I still believe it would not

be right for me to defend the professional judgment of the

company or the approach

the approach it adopted. Suffice it to say

that comments, critical and otherwise, on the surveys have

been fully taken into account when the survey results were

considered.