during a meeting between the two Foreign Ministers in New York in September 1992. But the Chinese position remains that this is impossible because the Basic Law cannot now be changed. The
Governor's proposals for the 1995 elections therefore set out
alternative ways of meeting Hong Kong people's
repeatedly-expressed desire for more democracy, while remaining
within the terms of the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.
The main elements are:
Voting age to be reduced from 21 to 18.
Voting system for geographical constituencies to be single seat, single vote.
-
An independent Boundary and Election Commission to be set up. Franchise of functional constituencies to be greatly
extended, to include entire working population (2.7 million).
- District Boards to be all-elected (at present a proportion of their membership is appointed).
Election Committee (undefined in the Basic Law) to be itself
composed of elected members (eg District Board members).
registered elector to be eligible for election.
Any
The Chinese Government was briefed on these proposals before
they were announced and the Governor has said he wants to
discuss them seriously with Peking. He is ready to consider any
alternative proposals they or people in Hong Kong may have. Mr Patten's first visit to Peking, 20-23 October, was unproductive.
But discussions can continue in the Joint Liaison Group. The Governor plans to put his proposals to the Legislative Council in the form of draft legislation in February. In due course,
after debate and discussion, the Council will have to reach a
decision that reflects the views of, the community. We and the
Governor have said that we will accept the Legislative Council's judgement. The Chinese remain strongly opposed to the
Governor's proposals, which they refuse to dicuss and say they
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