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the transition through 1997 can best be managed so as to preserve our familiar economic and social environment. In the pace of political change we may not have secured everything that everybody in Hong Kong wanted.
But we
have not done at all badly. What we have achieved will, I believe, provide a good basis on which we can continue to develop our own unique system within the framework laid down by the Joint Declaration.
23. The changes which are to take place in the way in which Hong Kong is administered are largely changes of our own choosing. There has been, and will be, a progressively greater involvement of Hong Kong people in running their own affairs. This will demand leadership. Hong Kong has never lacked leaders in business enterprise. But government has generally been left to officials, plus some dedicated and hardworking volunteers on our various advisory boards and committees. There is almost no tradition of full-time involvement in politics, and very little experience of elections.
24.
The tradition of administration by consultation has been changing. The change began in the late seventies with greater community involvement at the district level, leading to elections first to the District Boards and to an expanded franchise for the Urban Council. The next step was indirect elections to the Legislative Council. The process was already well underway when the debate on the Basic Law began. This debate has produced many new people willing to step forward and play an active part in the process of moulding Hong Kong. They have grappled with a unique political problem and have shown real determination and resourcefulness in the process.
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