TNAG-2450-FCO40-3567-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-1992 — Page 29

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credentials, the Governor proposes a radical enlargement of the scope of these constituencies, to give an electorate of 2.5 million, ie virtually all "economically active" residents. The Chinese are likely to see this as a trick, a gross distortion of the existing system; they may say that the new or enlarged constituencies are not functional constituencies within the meaning of the Basic Law. But the Governor and Mr Goodlad have weighed up this risk and believe it right to take it.

(c) Election Committee. The Basic Law provides for 10 LegCo members to be elected by "an election committee". It does not define this committee, though it broadly defines the composition of the Election Committee for the 1999 elections and for the choice of Chief Executive in 2002 (800 members, drawn from functional groups) and that of the Selection Committee which will be set up in 1996 to choose the first Chief Executive in 1997 and set up the SAR Government (400 members, on the same lines as the 1999 Election Committee). For the 1995 election committee officials in Hong Kong had drafted a model on the lines of the Basic Law models and relying mainly on the functional constituencies to elect committee members: this looked a pretty respectable option and one which, even if we proved unable to secure Chinese agreement to every detail, might set helpful precedents for the crucial 1997 and 1999 Committees. However the Governor and Mr Goodlad have concluded that in 1995 it is better to go for a broader-based election committee, consisting of the elected members of District Boards: this will help show that democracy can be enhanced even if only 20 of the 60 LegCo members are directly elected.

5. It is also worth noting likely Chinese opposition to the Governor's choice of voting-system in the direct elections: first past the post in single-seat constituencies, as LegCo

cov.opd(k)/CONST/njc

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