TNAG-1727-FCO40-2440-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 221

directly elected

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Since the more direct Councillors come in contact with the public,

the the better, I advocate direct election for Legislative Council, I

The also support that when direct election is introduced into Legislative

ľ Council, seats returned by plectoral colleges should be abolished. Elections held once every three years remind Councillors of their task of speaking up on behalf of the people and fighting for their

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benefits. [The White Paper has clearly delineated the jurisdiction of the three tiers, it stipulates that pistrict Boards are only to look at district affairs. But should district affairs call us for the help of the central government, we need a channel to follow the issue right to the top. Therefore, when seats returned by Electoral colleges are abolished, I think the Government should send high- ranking officers to attend District Board meetings when there are issues that need help from the central Government to help identify possible solutions. [Sir, after speaking on direct communication, I now turn to the question of Councillors having responsibilities but

no power.

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How can the Government devolve its power to tie in with the development of the Legislative Council? This is what the public are waiting for. After the introduction of indirectly elected seats into the Legislative Council, this Council has worked better than

before. The Government has accepted ammendments proposed by Councillors more willingly, but I feel very disappointed with policy- making aspect. The Government is becoming more distrustful towards

this Council which represents a big step towards democracy. A lot of

first hand information about the Government can only be obtained from 267 the [

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Press. [In July last year, when debated the Green Paper in

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this Council, I have registered my worry that the Legislative Council 28 would be reduced to just a Council for voicing grievances, but I

didhot say very clearly about what I thought just new because I feared that this might dampen the enthusiasm of the public in the

fight for direct elections and affect the consultation exercise

on the Green Paper. Yet now, the way ahead is clear, have no

considerations to heed, I can say clearly that direct election does not equal power. In order that the ruler may devolve power, he must be assured that even if power devolved, there wouldn't be any chaos, otherwise the louder the voice of demand the stricter the

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