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The ones that have left us within the last six months include:
Sir Edward YOUDE, our late Governor (in tragic circumstances) Sir John BREMRIDGE, ex Financial Secretary
Neil HENDERSON, ex Secretary for Education and Manpower Peter WILLIAMS, ex Secretary General Duties
Ian MCPHERSON, ex Secretary for Transport Nicky CHAN, ex Secretary for Lands and Works
and those that are on the departure list in the coming months include:
Sir David Akers JONES, Acting Governor, Chief Secretary Eric Ho, Secretary for Trade and Industry Alan SCOTT, Deputy Chief Secretary
John BOYD, Political Advisor
Colvyn HAYE, Commissioner, Hong Kong Government Office, London
In addition, there is a rumour that Sir Denis ROBERTS, Chief Justice and Sir Allan HUGGINS, V-P Justice of Appeal, the two most senior members of the Judiciary are leaving. I also understand that the term of Sir Richard EVANS' service, as British Embassador to China, would, in normal circumstances, be up early next year.
We have always emphasized the importance of stability for Hong Kong for the transitional years. A single change in a senior position in government usually causes several major reshuffles at high levels. Should we not consider the degree of disturbance that will be brought about by the departure of so many within such a short time.
The next few years are difficult years. The Joint Liaison Group and its work, the Basic Law Drafting Committee and Consultative Committee findings, the Green Paper on Representative Government and the development of Hong Kong's political scenes are all in front of us.
The new Governor has to be a courageous man to take on all that Hong Kong is facing. However, is it fair to him and to Hong Kong that so many senior members depart before he starts, taking away the wealth of knowledge and experience.
Hence, I would urge the Government and those in Whitehall to consider having some senior members stay at least for one to two more years, to assist the new Governor in his task.
Will direct elections give us what we want
The next issue I would like to focus on is the controversial subject of direct elections.
Before we ask for direct elections to the Legislative Council, we should ask ourselves the question 'Will direct elections give us what we want?'
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We want Hong Kong to be governed by Hong Kong people. We want a democratic government, we want a truly representative government in the Legislative Council and we want stability and prosperity for Hong Kong.
Will direct elections give us these?
Democracy is defined in the English dictionary as 'Government by the people, a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.'
A democratic government is one through which the public's voice can be heard; that is one in which people from all walks of life with different interests and backgrounds can be represented in the Legislative Council. The existing structure of elections, with electoral colleges and functional constituencies achieves that to a certain extent. How can we spread the representation further so that the Legislative Council members cover a wide spectrum? Will direct elections give this result? This is the question I want to ask.
Some people relate direct elections to a further step towards democracy. I do not see it this way. Democracy is the end result, it can be arrived at in many ways and forms. What we want really for Hong Kong is to have the right people, who really have Hong Kong's interests at heart, to be members of the Legislative Council. These are the people who would act for the interest of Hong Kong, for the interest of its people, and to maintain stability and prosperity for Hong Kong.
An electoral college and a functional constituency election are very sophisticated systems of election. They provide opportunities for electing the right people to the Legislative Council. I give an example, I am an accountant. The public does not know about me, my work, what I stand for, what I believe in, my standards and my ethics. But my colleagues in my profession should know. They are surely in a better position than the general public to evaluate whether I deserve their votes to the Legislative Council. Imagine, if I have to stand for direct elections, since the public do not know me, I would need people to promote me, organize campaigns to lobby votes for me, I need a political party to support me, I need a platform. I would have to become so political that my real goal of wanting to serve the interests of Hong Kong would somehow become muddled. My loyalties are then tied to my voters, my lobbyists, my party politics. I am not a free person anymore to act for the interests of Hong Kong. That is why I believe an electoral college and a functional constituency election would have a better chance of getting the right people to the Legislative Council. One may be able to fool the public by a strong team of lobbyists and a lot of handshakes, but he cannot fool his colleagues nor the people who have hands-on experience in dealing with him.
I have 15 elected colleagues and out of them three are lawyers. There are five who are from the academic circle, being teachers or school principals. There are
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The ones that have left us within the last six months include:
Sir Edward YOUDE, our late Governor (in tragic circumstances) Sir John BREMRIDGE, ex Financial Secretary
Neil HENDERSON, ex Secretary for Education and Manpower Peter WILLIAMS, ex Secretary General Duties
Ian MCPHERSON, ex Secretary for Transport Nicky CHAN, ex Secretary for Lands and Works
and those that are on the departure list in the coming months include:
Sir David Akers JONES, Acting Governor, Chief Secretary Eric Ho, Secretary for Trade and Industry Alan SCOTT, Deputy Chief Secretary
John BOYD, Political Advisor
Colvyn HAYE, Commissioner, Hong Kong Government Office, London
In addition, there is a rumour that Sir Denis ROBERTS, Chief Justice and Sir Allan HUGGINS, V-P Justice of Appeal, the two most senior members of the Judiciary are leaving. I also understand that the term of Sir Richard EVANS' service, as British Embassador to China, would, in normal circumstances, be up early next year.
We have always emphasized the importance of stability for Hong Kong for the transitional years. A single change in a senior position in government usually causes several major reshuffles at high levels. Should we not consider the degree of disturbance that will be brought about by the departure of so many within such a short time.
The next few years are difficult years. The Joint Liaison Group and its work, the Basic Law Drafting Committee and Consultative Committee findings, the Green Paper on Representative Government and the development of Hong Kong's political scenes are all in front of us.
The new Governor has to be a courageous man to take on all that Hong Kong is facing. However, is it fair to him and to Hong Kong that so many senior members depart before he starts, taking away the wealth of knowledge and experience.
Hence, I would urge the Government and those in Whitehall to consider having some senior members stay at least for one to two more years, to assist the new Governor in his task.
Will direct elections give us what we want
The next issue I would like to focus on is the controversial subject of direct elections.
Before we ask for direct elections to the Legislative Council, we should ask ourselves the question 'Will direct elections give us what we want?'
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 148 of 201
255
We want Hong Kong to be governed by Hong Kong people. We want a democratic government, we want a truly representative government in the Legislative Council and we want stability and prosperity for Hong Kong.
Will direct elections give us these?
Democracy is defined in the English dictionary as 'Government by the people, a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.'
A democratic government is one through which the public's voice can be heard; that is one in which people from all walks of life with different interests and backgrounds can be represented in the Legislative Council. The existing structure of elections, with electoral colleges and functional constituencies achieves that to a certain extent. How can we spread the representation further so that the Legislative Council members cover a wide spectrum? Will direct elections give this result? This is the question I want to ask.
Some people relate direct elections to a further step towards democracy. I do not see it this way. Democracy is the end result, it can be arrived at in many ways and forms. What we want really for Hong Kong is to have the right people, who really have Hong Kong's interests at heart, to be members of the Legislative Council. These are the people who would act for the interest of Hong Kong, for the interest of its people, and to maintain stability and prosperity for Hong Kong.
An electoral college and a functional constituency election are very sophisticated systems of election. They provide opportunities for electing the right people to the Legislative Council. I give an example, I am an accountant. The public does not know about me, my work, what I stand for, what I believe in, my standards and my ethics. But my colleagues in my profession should know. They are surely in a better position than the general public to evaluate whether I deserve their votes to the Legislative Council. Imagine, if I have to stand for direct elections, since the public do not know me, I would need people to promote me, organize campaigns to lobby votes for me, I need a political party to support me, I need a platform. I would have to become so political that my real goal of wanting to serve the interests of Hong Kong would somehow become muddled. My loyalties are then tied to my voters, my lobbyists, my party politics. I am not a free person anymore to act for the interests of Hong Kong. That is why I believe an electoral college and a functional constituency election would have a better chance of getting the right people to the Legislative Council. One may be able to fool the public by a strong team of lobbyists and a lot of handshakes, but he cannot fool his colleagues nor the people who have hands-on experience in dealing with him.
I have 15 elected colleagues and out of them three are lawyers. There are five who are from the academic circle, being teachers or school principals. There are
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