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legislature of Hong Kong must have:--(1) not less than half of its members returned by direct elections; (2) not more than 25 per cent of its members returned by functional constituencies; and (3) not more than 25 per cent of its members returned by local councils. I am also of the opinion that the executive chief of the future Special Administrative Region should be nominated by members of the legislature and then elected by a territory-wide one-man-one-vote election, before a report is submitted to the Central for his appointment.
In the transition period, the system of government should proceed steadily on, taking the above proposals as its target. To start with, some seats of the Legislative Council should be returned by a one-man-one-vote direct election in 1988. Co-ordination with the system of local government and the 300-strong advisory committees and government departments should be reviewed so that the system of government as a whole, i.e. a system comprising the legislature, local governments, advisory committees and government departments, could be smoothly transferred.
As for the relations among and development of the Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards, 'departmentalism' should be discarded. It is very dangerous to regard the council one belongs to as the centre of Hong Kong's political operations and think that the other organizations must simply work to it in a supporting role. If each of the Executive Council, the Legislative Council, the Urban Council, the Regional Council, the 360-odd central advisory committees and the District Boards wants greater power and will not take the overall system into account, the system of government will lose balance and be rendered insufficient with confrontation between the central and local governments.
I therefore think that before reviewing district administration, we should first examine the system of central government, for example, the composition and functions of the Legislative Council. We must have a clear blueprint of the system of central government before we can consider coordination by district administration.
Due to the shortage of time, I cannot put forward here a more detailed analysis of and proposal on district administration. I have appended to this speech my work entitled 'An outlook on district administration in Hong Kong' for record and members' reference.
There have been movements for democracy recently in various parts of China the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the Mainland, the past two weeks have seen peaceful demonstrations demanding freedom and democracy by university students and youths in the cities of Hefei, Wuhan, Kunming, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Provided that these demonstrations are peaceful, in accordance with the law and do not affect public order and traffic, I believe they are civil rights stipulated for in the Chinese constitution and should be upheld. Demonstrations and petitions as ways of expressing wishes, stands and sentiments are good but may not be effective in the in-depth discussions on how China should democratize. As the Chinese government, university students and
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the man in the street all consider that political reforms are desirable, people should be encouraged to freely air their views through such media as television, radio, newspaper and magazine. Consultations and discussions will bring out the truth.
Democracy is not a luxury for China, but rather a necessity for its unification, the four modernizations programme, eradication of bureaucracy and such malpractice as entering by the back door, mass motivation, efficient city management and business administration. If China does not reform its political system, the economic reforms which have begun to work smoothly will in time topple down.
Some may consider me pedantic, but as a Chinese Hong Kong belonger and a Hong Kong Chinese, though a rather insignificant ordinary intellectual, I would like to cry out on behalf of those advocating the unification of, democracy in and the four modernizations for China. Finally, I would like to offer you a love poem on the unification of and democracy in China-'On 4 May 1919 we vowed our commitments'.
Our love originates in a legend---
a disease not properly cured
that started in 2598 B.C.
when Huang-di rose to heaven riding on a yellow dragon,
and then Yao in despair abdicated to Shun,
for which his dowager Xiang cried and yearned.
Since then, the youths of China have become restless.
It was on 4 May 1919
when we vowed our commitments.
But we failed
despite repeated efforts in Tienanmen.
Then on a warm winter day,
I on Ko Shan, you on Lushan, he on Yushan- with chests thrown out, heads uplifted and
mouths tightly shut, we gazed at the distance beyond.
As it is an affair involving three,
why not draw geometric intersections of equidistance and start from zero to infinity,
or bring out the common factor?
Then we three in one will,
on a warm winter day,
as speckless white snow,
flow back to the river source at He-mu-du.
Melted by our passion,
we will flow to every part of
China,
slowly.
Mr. Chairman, with these words, I support the motion.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
legislature of Hong Kong must have:--(1) not less than half of its members returned by direct elections; (2) not more than 25 per cent of its members returned by functional constituencies; and (3) not more than 25 per cent of its members returned by local councils. I am also of the opinion that the executive chief of the future Special Administrative Region should be nominated by members of the legislature and then elected by a territory-wide one-man-one- vote election, before a report is submitted to the Central for his appointment.
In the transition period, the system of government should proceed steadily on, taking the above proposals as its target. To start with, some seats of the Legislative Council should be returned by a one-man-one-vote direct election in 1988. Co-ordination with the system of local government and the 300-strong advisory committees and government departments should be reviewed so that the system of government as a whole, i.e. a system comprising the legislature, local governments, advisory committees and government departments, could be smoothly transferred.
As for the relations among and development of the Urban Council, Regional Council and District Boards, 'departmentalism' should be discarded. It is very dangerous to regard the council one belongs to as the centre of Hong Kong's political operations and think that the other organizations must simply work to it in a supporting role. If each of the Executive Council, the Legislative Council, the Urban Council, the Regional Council, the 360-odd central advisory committees and the District Boards wants greater power and will not take the overall system into account, the system of government will lose balance and be rendered insufficient with confrontation between the central and local governments.
I therefore think that before reviewing district administration, we should first examine the system of central government, for example, the composition and functions of the Legislative Council. We must have a clear blueprint of the system of central government before we can consider coordination by district administration.
Due to the shortage of time, I cannot put forward here a more detailed analysis of and proposal on district administration. I have appended to this speech my work entitled 'An outlook on district administration in Hong Kong' for record and members' reference.
There have been movements for democracy recently in various parts of China the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the Mainland, the past two weeks have seen peaceful demonstrations demanding freedom and democracy by university students and youths in the cities of Hefei, Wuhan, Kunming, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Provided that these demonstrations are peaceful, in accordance with the law and do not affect public order and traffic, I believe they are civil rights stipulated for in the Chinese constitution and should be upheld. Demonstrations and petitions as ways of expressing wishes, stands and sentiments are good but may not be effective in the in-depth discussions on how China should democratize. As the Chinese government, university students and
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 144 of 201
247
the man in the street all consider that political reforms are desirable, people should be encouraged to freely air their views through such media as television, radio, newspaper and magazine. Consultations and discussions will bring out the truth.
Democracy is not a luxury for China, but rather a necessity for its unification, the four modernizations programme, eradication of bureaucracy and such malpractice as entering by the back door, mass motivation, efficient city management and business administration. If China does not reform its political system, the economic reforms which have begun to work smoothly will in time
topple down.
Some may consider me pedantic, but as a Chinese Hong Kong belonger and a Hong Kong Chinese, though a rather insignificant ordinary intellectual, I would like to cry out on behalf of those advocating the unification of, democracy in and the four modernizations for China. Finally, I would like to offer you a love poem on the unification of and democracy in China-'On 4 May 1919 we vowed our commitments'.
Our love originates in a legend---
a disease not properly cured
that started in 2598 B.C.
when Huang-di rose to heaven riding on a yellow dragon,
and then Yao in despair abdicated to Shun,
for which his dowager Xiang cried and yearned.
Since then, the youths of China have become restless.
It was on 4 May 1919
when we vowed our commitments.
But we failed
despite repeated efforts in Tienanmen.
Then on a warm winter day,
I on Ko Shan, you on Lushan, he on Yushan- with chests thrown out, heads uplifted and
mouths tightly shut, we gazed at the distance beyond.
As it is an affair involving three,
why not draw geometric intersections of equidistance and start from zero to infinity,
or bring out the common factor?
Then we three in one will,
on a warm winter day,
as speckless white snow,
flow back to the river source at He-mu-du.
Melted by our passion,
we will flow to every part of
China,
slowly.
Mr. Chairman, with these words, I support the motion.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.