TNAG-2012-FCO40-2864-Constitutional-development-in-Hong-Kong-1991-1990 — Page 44

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MDHIAN 8947

OFSK OFFICER

TELNO 755

OF 281125Z FEBRUARY 90

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REGISTR Action Taken

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INFO PRIORITY PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

1991

MY TELNO 671: CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE: 1991 LEGCO

WE HAD A FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE 1991 PACKAGE IN EXCO TODAY (28 FEBRUARY).

2.

WE REACHED THE FOLLOWING TENTATIVE CONCLUSIONS ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MUNICIPAL COUNCILS AND DISTRICT BOARDS FOR THE 1991 ELECTIONS:

A)

B)

LEGCO IN 1991 WILL CONSIST OF 18 DIRECTLY ELECTED MEMBERS SEMI COLON 20 OR 21 FUNCTIONAL SEATS (PRECISE NUMBER STILL TO BE DECIDED - SEE PARA 3 BELOW SEMI COLON 17 OR 18 APPOINTED MEMBERS SEMI COLON 3 EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS SEMI COLON AND ONE APPOINTED DEPUTY PRESIDENT (SEE (B) BELOW), MAKING A TOTAL OF 59 OR 60 MEMBERS SEMI COLON

ONE NON-OFFICIAL MEMBER WILL BE APPOINTED AS DEPUTY PRESIDENT OF LEGCO. HE WILL NOT TAKE PART IN ORDINARY LEGCO BUSINESS SEMI COLON

C) POLICY SECRETARIES WILL PARTICIPATE IN LEGCO PROCEEDINGS BY

ATTENDING THE COUNCIL, RATHER THAN AS MEMBERS SEMI COLON

D)

E>

THERE WILL BE NO CHANGE IN THE COMPOSITION OF DISTRICT BOARDS AND THE MUNICIPAL COUNCILS, THUS PRESERVING THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENT BY WHICH ROUGHLY ONE THIRD OF THE MEMBERSHIP IS APPOINTED. THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARDS AND COUNCILS WILL BE FURTHER EXAMINED BEFORE 1995 WITH A VIEW TO REDUCING THE PROPORTION OF APPOINTED MEMBERS.

THERE WILL BE NINE TWO-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES FOR THE 1991 LEGCO ELECTIONS. EACH ELECTOR WILL BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR TWO CANDIDATES. FIRST PAST THE POST SYSTEM. THE CONSTITUENCIES WILL BE SO DESIGNED THAT THEY CAN EASILY BE TRANSFORMED INTO 10 TWO-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES IN 1995.

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