f
File No.
CONFIDENTAL
3
Page
7.
(b)
(c)
should be given more
by
Leg Co
legitimacy persuading the Chinese to agree to a faster pace of democracy in terms of directly elected seats;
if no agreement was reached to increase the number from the currently agreed 20, then their fallback position was to make the extra 10 seats as democratic as possible.
Dr Shiu confirmed that this was their position. They also felt that some of the nine Functional Constituencies should be allocated to the DBS/Municipal Councils which would then elect their representatives to LegCo. The Governor said that it had been suggested that DBS should comprise the Election Committee. Mr Cautherley said members of the Election Committee could be elected through universal suffrage.
8.
more
The Governor asked whether the Foundation favoured separation of ExCo and LegCo and the abolition of OMELCO. Dr Leong said that OMELCO muddled the work of LegCo.
For example, ExCo members formulated policies and then sat on the OMELCO Panels which scrutinised the very policies they had created. More open Government was required and LegCo needed to act as a check and balance to the executive. ExCo should be accountable to LegCo. If there were elected people on ExCo with a policy portfolio, the system would become
like that of
Under Westminster.
the present arrangement civil servants who took responsibility for their policies had no mandate, while politicians had the mandate but no responsibility. The Governor said that unlike the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, his Cabinet and Administration were not created by mechanistically democratic means.
It was important that the relationship between ExCo and LegCo should be clear in terms of accountability. But it was necessary for the Administration to be able to secure a majority in LegCo. It was possible that the Letters Patent would have to be amended.
9.
the
Mr
Harrison said that the Foundation supported
of concept
free a
free market enterprise and They were concerned by the monopoly cartels which already existed and that the airport might also become subject to
They wanted to
economy.
such monopolies.
see :
CONFIDENTIAL
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.