TNAG-2712-FCO40-3918-Parliamentary-relations-draft-White-Paper-on-Representative--1993 — Page 168

by the Hong Kong Government before 1997, if the objective of continuity and a smooth transition of government institutions

is to be achieved.

19. The review of developments in representative government took place in 1987. It generated considerable public

interest. The Hong Kong Government published a further Green Paper. After extensive public debate, the resulting 1988 White Paper concluded that although there was wide support in the community for the principle of some directly-elected members in the Legislative Council, opinion was sharply

divided as to the timing of their introduction. The Hong Kong

Government decided to postpone the introduction of

directly-elected members to the Council until 1991, in order

to allow the changes introduced in 1985 to settle down

further. The White Paper recommended an increase in the

number of functional constituency seats in 1988 and the

introduction of 10 directly-elected seats in 1991.

20.

The events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 had a

profound effect on Hong Kong opinion. This reaction in turn reinforced in the Chinese leadership a deep-seated mistrust of democracy in Hong Kong. These events strengthened support in

Hong Kong for a faster pace of democracy than that laid down

in the 1988 White Paper. In July 1989 the unofficial members

of the Executive and Legislative Councils (OMELCO) recommended

that one third of the Legislative Council should be

directly-elected in 1991 (ie 20 seats) and not less than 50%

in 1995 (ie 30 seats). This became known as the OMELCO

consensus. Senior members of OMELCO came to London to press Her Majesty's Government to implement it.

21.

This posed in acute form the problem of how to reconcile

the clear wishes of the community for a faster pace of democratisation with the equally strong interest in continuity

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