36-NOV-1992
1
12:31
BRITISH TRADE COMM
P.07
│APPENDIX.
WHAT GOVERNOR PATTEN HAS PROPOSED
Hong Kong's political future is defined by two documents: the Joint Declaration ratified by Britain and China in 1985 and the Basic Law promulgated in February 1990. The Joint Declaration affirms Hong Kong's inalienable status as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China and accords it a high degree of social and economic autonomy. The Basic Law outlines the organisation of the 1997 SAR government: a chief executive elected by a 400-member election committee and supported by an appointed Executive Council (EXCO), an independent judiciary and a 60- member Legislative Council (LEGCO) of 20 directly elected members and 40 indirectly elected members. Elections in 1999 and 2003 will eventually increase the directly-elected component to half of the legislative body (See Table 2).
Basic Law
allows for gradual but limited in- crease in democratic participation...
TABLE 2. THE COMPOSITION OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, 1984-2003
Officials (Including
Appointed
Elected by Functional
Elected by Electoral
the President) Members Constituencies
College
Directly Elected
Total
1984
17
30
47
1985
11
22
12
12
57
1988
11
20
14
12
57
1991
4
18
21
18
60
1995
30
1
20
60
1999
30
6
24
60
2003
30
30
60
Governor Patten's 7 October constitutional package does not seek to change the overall formula for gradual and limited direct representation outlined in the Basic Law. Instead. it proposes specific arrangements for the critical 1995 LEGCO elections that will usher in the first legislature of the SAR government - where only guidelines existed before. The main points can be summarised as follows:
Separation of EXCO and LEGCO
Creation of 9 new functional constituencies and a broadened franchise for existing functional constituencies
Lowered voting age of 18
Single seat, single vote constituencies
Abolition of appointed positions to Municipal Councils and District Boards
Formation of 1995 election committee from elected District Board members
The centrepiece of the governor's proposals is the enhanced role of the legislature as an "Independent check on government." The separation of the non-official membership of the Executive Council (EXCO) from the Legislative Council (LEGCO) is the first step. EXCO is long Kong's final decision-maker, roughly equivalent to the Cabinet in the British system, though not all its members have corresponding ministerial or departmental positions. Until recently, many of EXCO's non-official members had overlapping positions in the LEGCO. While this helped to reduce tensions between the two bodies, the presence of EXCO members in LEGCO has circumscribed legislative autonomy somewhat, since EXCO members are bound to observe the principle of collective responsibility. By severing the ties between the two bodies, LEGCO is effectively accorded greater independence and a distinct identity from EXCO.
Governor's proposals do not radically alter Basic Law...
...but call for moderate enhancement of LEGCO's role...
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