TNAG-2786-FCO40-4005-Hong-Kong-UK-Parliamentary-and-other-interest-in-constitutio-1993 — Page 106

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They had never complained about injustices and corruption in Hong Kong because it had not affected them. But the underprivileged

jority of the Hong Kong people remained unrepresented.

When the new democrats of the 1980s demanded direct elections for 1988, the Government held an official survey of public opinion. Over 130,000 submissions were received, but according to Government findings, only 15% of the submissions supported direct elections, most preferring a slower pace. The new democrats challenged these findings, but the Government remained adamant and no direct elections were held that year, though 26 legislators were returned by indirect election from functional constituencies and electoral colleges.

The June 4 Tienanmen nightmare proved a booster for the cause of the democrats in Hong Kong. They quickly organised demonstrations attended by at least a million people, who came to express grief and shock, and in some cases sheer anger. The leading part played by the new democrats propelled them into the limelight in good time for the 1991 elections which were, for the first time, to include 18 directly elected seats. It is no surprise that they were able to capture all but one of those seats, though it must be remembered that only 50% of potential 'voters registered, and only 20% actually voted.

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The shock of Tienanmen Square for a time united most

conservative and democrat. The Executive and political groups, conservative and democrat. Legislative Councils (known as OMELCO then) reached a consensus that year asking Britain to press for 30 directly elected seats for the first elections under China's Basic Law, which was then under discussion in Beijing. From written exchanges in early 1990 it seems clear that Britain did not press for the OMELCO consensus but merely asked China for 24 seats. China had originally proposed only 10 directly elected seats, but later raised the number to 15. Both sides finally agreed that there should be 18 directly elected seats in 1991, 20 in 1995, with the stipulation in the Basic Law that there would be a further 4 elected seats in 1999 and 6 in 2003, by which time the legislature would be 50% directly elected and 50% indirectly elected. Mr. Hurd accepted this arrangement in principle. He also went on record as agreeing to the formation of an Election Committee very similar to that proposed by China in the Basic law. On 12 February 1990, Mr. Hurd wrote to the Chinese Foreign Minister: "I agree in principle with the: arrangements which you propose for an Electoral Committee, which should be established in 1995. The precise details of how this should be done can be discussed between our two sides in due course.

Those precise details were never discussed before Governor Patten unilaterally announced his own plan for the Electoral Committee in 1992, a plan that strays far from the Basic Law as well as from the proposals agreed by Mr. Hurd in 1990.

Concerning the functional constituencies, it had already been agreed that a further nine would be introduced in the 1995 elections

No detailed and that all appointed seats would be abolished. arrangements were made on these functional constituencies, but they were expected to follow the usual pattern introduced in 1985.