TNAG-2731-FCO40-3937-Future-of-Hong-Kong-constitutional-development-1993 — Page 179

GOVERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.

FRI 15 JAN 93 11:54

PG.02

SECRET 3*3

Annex E

An Election Committee based on

Occupational Groups and District Board Membership

Background

In the Governor's Address to Legco (para. 146), we said that :

2.

the and

(a) the Election Committee (EC) should be genuinely

representative of the community;

(b)

the electors on the Committee should themselves be elected; and

(c) the simplest and most effective formula to achieve this is to draw all or most of the Committee's members from the District Boards.

In the course of the diplomatic exchanges between British and Chinese Governments in early 1990, we proposed Chinese Government agreed to 5 principles for the EC. These 5 principles are set out in full in the Appendix to

The most directly relevant ones are :

the

this note.

3.

(a)

(b)

the EC should be as representative as possible;

the composition of the EC should as far as possible avoid direct duplication with the membership of other constituencies of Legco.

Also, in the course of the 1990 diplomatic exchanges, we have signified to the Chinese Government that we agreed in principle to the composition and ratio of the EC as specified in paragraph 2 of Annex I to the Basic Law. paragraph specifies that the composition of the 1999 EC as follows :

That

(a)

Industrial, commercial and financial sectors

200 (25%)

(b)

The professions

200 (25%)

200 (25%)

(c) Labour, social services,

religious and other sectors

(d)

Members of the Legislative Council, representatives of district-based organizations, Hong Kong deputies to the NPC, and representatives of Hong Kong members of the

National Committee of the CPPCC

200 (25%)