REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT
12. At the time of the signature of the Joint
Declaration in 1984, there were no elected members of
LegCo: all were appointed. In parallel with our
discussions with the Chinese about Hong Kong's future, we
have sought to ensure that the process of development of
representative government is well established in Hong
Kong before 1997. The pace of change has been steady and
deliberate, in line with the wishes of the community as a
whole. Indirect elections to LegCo were introduced in
1985; and a comprehensive review of public opinion on the
subject of constitutional change was held in 1987. That
review showed that while most people wanted a directly
elected element in the legislature, opinion was sharply
divided over when when it should be introduced. Our
decision to introduce a directly elected element in 1991
was mostly welcomed in the territory. There is moreover
scope for further change. In the interest of continuity
we have succeeded in persuading the Chinese to accept
that those members of LegCo elected in 1995 should serve
across the change of sovereignty in 1997, and this will
mean holding the 1995 elections in accordance with the
provisions of the Basic Law, which as it currently
stands, envisages a legislature in 1997 composed of 27%
directly elected seats and 73% indirectly elected ones.
There is thus the prospect of a steady evolution towards
fully representative government at a pace which is in
line with what Hong Kong people want.
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