Page 62 of 233
88
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
There should be a second review in 1990 to look into the possibility of progressively increasing the number of Councillors to be directly elected.
In 1991 the 12 appointed and 10 ex officio seats should be retained so that there will not be too drastic changes which may affect the stability and investments in Hong Kong.
The gradual changes in the composition of the Legislative Council will herald the era of 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people' and as there are Councillors elected by functional constituencies as well as appointed by the Governor, the political impact on the society will not be too sudden for the public to absorb.
After 1991 there should be a third review of the position, possibly paying attention to Beijing's intentions.
The Executive Council
To preserve the stability of and harmony in Hong Kong, there should be as little change as possible to the composition of the Executive Council. In order to strengthen representation of public views, it is fitting that there should be 8 Executive Councillors elected by the Legislative Council, but there is no need to reduce the appointed seats to only 2. If the total number of Executive Councillors remains at 16, the appointed seats may be increased to 4 and if necessary, the Governor may first appoint 2 Councillors and defer appointment of the other 2. Such flexibility would be better suited to the circumstances than reducing the number of appointed seats to 2.
After 1991, whether the Executive Council should be given more powers could only be decided then as such would involve the actual powers of administration of the British hierarchy in the residual years as well as Beijing's intentions in regard to the transfer of authority.
The Governor
The Governor is the highest authority in Hong Kong and in the coming 13 years, he should continue to be a British national appointed by the Queen of England.
To appoint a British national to the governorship will strengthen the link between Hong Kong and Britain. If a Chinese is appointed governor, there may be a veil of aloofness, perhaps invisible, between Hong Kong and the British Parliament which may lead to apathy towards Hong Kong by the British Parliament. In the event, it may be possible for Britain, unconsciously, to relinquish her responsibilities and obligations in Hong Kong at an earlier date. Under the circumstances, things will go well if all of us can live in harmony, but if divergent political views and factional struggles emerge, or there are breaches of public order and international disputes, then in the precarious situation, China may intervene in Hong Kong's internal administration before due time. On the other hand, Hong Kong is not yet ready for intervention from China in the coming 13 years and if that happens, it will greatly affect the political system of 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people' after 1997.
Before 1997 when Britain has not officially handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, if any international problems arise, including problems of the transfer of sovereignty, Beijing will take them up with Britain. In this case, it will be easier, with a British national serving as Governor, to tackle or solve the problems.
To provide an opportunity for training for 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people', we may consider creating the post of Deputy Governor after 1991.
We may also consider a candidate elected from among the Executive Councillors for appointment as Deputy Governor.
Conclusion
It appears the time allowed for public comments on the Green Paper is too short, but as reforms in the Legislative Council will commence next year, there is not much working time and the shortcoming is therefore understandable.
It seems the Green Paper is approved in principle by the government departments and the Executive Council and unless there are very special reasons, it will be adopted, perhaps with certain modifications to some of the details, such as the time of review etc.
It is hoped that the government will give serious consideration to the suggestion to increase the number of elected Legislative Councillors.
Mr. Chairman, with these comments on the Green Paper on Representative Government, I support your motion.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—Ladies and Gentlemen, now we will have a recess of about ten minutes—3.55 p.m., after that the debate will be resumed.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—Ladies and Gentlemen, the debate will now resume—4.05 p.m.
(Dr. Denny M. H. HUANG, Dr. Philip C. K. Kwok and Mr. LEE Chik-yuet left after the recess.)
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, when I first started to draft my speech I had the idea of stating my credentials too, but I resisted doing it. But since two of my senior members of Council have stated their credentials I might have to say mine as well. I was born in Hong Kong before the Second World War and in the days of 1945, the population of Hong Kong was something just under 600,000. Hong Kong then was a very sleepy old town. At that time the demography of the population was such that the percentage of young people was much lower than that of today. Taking into consideration
Page 62 of 233
89
Page 62 of 233
88
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
There should be a second review in 1990 to look into the possibility of progressively increasing the number of Councillors to be directly elected.
In 1991 the 12 appointed and 10 ex officio seats should be retained so that there will not be too drastic changes which may affect the stability and investments in Hong Kong.
The gradual changes in the composition of the Legislative Council will herald the era of 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people' and as there are Councillors elected by functional constituencies as well as appointed by the Governor, the political impact on the society will not be too sudden for the public to absorb.
After 1991 there should be a third review of the position, possibly attention to Beijing's intentions.
The Executive Council
to pay more
To preserve the stability of and harmony in Hong Kong, there should be as little changes as possible to the composition of the Executive Council. In order to strengthen representation of public views, it is fitting that there should be 8 Executive Councillors elected by the Legislative Council, but there is not need to reduce the appointed seats to only 2. If the total number of Executive Councillors remains at 16, the appointed seats may be increased to 4 and if necessary, the Governor may first appoint 2 Councillors and defer appointment of the other 2. Such flexibility would be better suited to the circumstances than reducing the number of appointed seats to 2.
After 1991, whether the Executive Council should be given more powers could only be decided then as such would involve the actual powers of administration of the British hierarchy in the residual years as well as Beijing's intentions in regard to the transfer of authority.
The Governor
The Governor is the highest authority in Hong Kong and in the coming 13 years, he should continue to be a British national appointed by the Queen of England.
To appoint a British national to the governorship will strengthen the link between Hong Kong and Britain. If a Chinese is appointed governor, there may be a veil of aloofness, perhaps invisible, between Hong Kong and the British Parliament which may lead to apathy towards Hong Kong by the British Parliament. In the event, it may be possible for British, unconsciously, to relinquish her responsibilities and obligations in Hong Kong at an earlier date. Under the circumstances, things will go well if all of us can live in harmony, but if divergent political views and factional struggles emerge, or there are breaches of public order and international disputes, then in the precarious situation, China may intervene in Hong Kong's internal administration before
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 62 of 233
89
due time. On the other hand, Hong Kong is not yet ready for intervention from China in the coming 13 years and if that happens, it will greatly affect the political system of 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people' after 1997.
Before 1997 when Britain has not officially handed over sovereignty of Hong Kong to China, if any international problems arise, including problems in of the transfer of sovereignty, Beijing will take them up with Britain. In this case, it will be easier, with a British national serving as Governor, to tackle or solve the problems.
respect
To provide opportunity of training for 'Hong Kong governed by Hong Kong people', we may consider creating the post of Deputy Governor after 1991.
We may also consider a candidate elected from among the Executive Councillors for appointment as Deputy Governor.
Conclusion
It appears the time allowed for public comments on the Green Paper is too short, but as reforms in the Legislative Council will commence next year, there is not much working time and the shortcoming is therefore understandable.
It seems the Green Paper is approved in principle by the government departments and the Executive Council and unless there are very special reasons, it will be adopted, perhaps with certain modifications to some of the details, such as the time of review etc.
It is hoped that government will give serious consideration to the suggestion to increase the number of elected Legislative Councillors.
Mr. Chairman, with these comments on the Green Paper on Representative Government, I support your motion.
CHAIRMAN (in English):—Ladies and Gentlemen, now we will have a recess about ten minutes-3.55 p.m., after that the debate will be resumed.
CHAIRMAN (in English):- Ladies and Gentlemen, the debate will now resume- 4.05 p.m.
(Dr. Denny M. H. HUANG, Dr. Philip C. K. Kwok and Mr. LEE Chik-yuet left after the recess.)
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, when I first started to draft my speech I had the idea of stating my credentials too, but I resisted in doing it. But since two of my senior members of Council have stated their credentials I might have to say mine as well. I was born in Hong Kong before the Second World War and in the days of 1945, the population of Hong Kong was something just under 600 000, Hong Kong then was a very sleepy old town. At that time the demography of the population was such that the percentage of young people was much lower than that of today. Taking into consideration
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.