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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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People may gain more confidence (especially in the one country-two systems policy implemented in Hong Kong by the Chinese government).

(2) Opinions and worries against the introduction of direct election in 1988:

• The British government is given a chance to ‘steal a march' in politics when introducing direct election at this time.

• Problems concerning the convergence with the Basic Law arise.

• Rash introduction of direct election will have adverse effects on the confidence of the investors (including foreign investors), thus affecting the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong during the transition period.

• There is not enough time to set up a sound election system and to solve the technical problems of election. This may lead to chaos and the Legislative Council elected may find it hard to operate. Inadequate social awareness and education on election.

(3) People even think that both the Chinese and British governments wish to take the initiative alone if Hong Kong has to become democratic and direct election is to be introduced to the Legislative Council.

At present the above confusion of ideas and standpoints exists. There must be a breakthrough, or else, it will be detrimental to society both in the short run and long run.

2.

A gleam of hope—consensus among confusions Although there are various opinions on whether direct election should be introduced in 1988, from the attitudes shown by the Chinese and British governments and the opinions expressed by the public, only a minority is against the introduction of direct election in principle. The only divergence is on the timing of introducing direct election and the proportion of directly elected seats.

For example:

(1) 19 out of 21 proposals stated in the final report (1987/5/25) on the constitution of the legislature of the Basic Law Consultative Committee Paper CCBL-SG/POS—WG01/02-FR02-870525 support the introduction of directly elected seats in the legislature,

(2) In the Legislative Council's debate on the 'Green Paper: The 1987 Review of Developments in Representative Government' on 16 and 17 of July, 32 out of 45 spoken Legislative Councillors support the introduction of direct election (17 of them support introduction of direct election in 1988), 6 do not have any clear standpoints and only 7 are against direct election.

(3) The '71 proposals' put forward by the 71 Basic Law Consultative Committee Members from the industrial, commercial and professional sectors also support the introduction of directly elected seats. (This proposal is one of the 19 proposals mentioned in item (1) above).

3.

Possible methods to break through the impasse

The following possible methods are based on the consensus gradually formed by the people of Hong Kong towards direct election. Mutual understanding and concession among the governments of China, Britain and Hong Kong is the prerequisite for the implementation of these methods.

Proposal (1) If the report of the Survey Office shows that the majority support the introduction of direct election in 1988, the Government should introduce direct election in 1988 so as to carry out people's wishes. And the Basic Law may take this public opinion into consideration when formulating the future government system of Hong Kong. Furthermore, China's understanding should be sought.

Proposal (2) If the report of the Survey Office shows that the majority do not support the introduction of direct election in 1988 but support direct election in principle, the Government should make a conclusion on direct election and a definite promise about the future introduction of direct election. Moreover, the schedule of implementation should also be stated. However, as the transition period is limited, direct election must be introduced not later than 1991. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Government should, through the British government, discuss with China on how to include direct election into the Basic Law.

Proposal (3) If the report of the Survey Office shows that the majority are against direct election in principle, (in view of the present situation, this possibility is quite small), the Government should make a conclusion on direct election and try its best to discuss with China, through the British government, on the inclusion of direct election in the Basic Law. This provides an opportunity for the public to have in-depth discussions on the subject and make a final decision during the 'three rounds submission and consultation process' of the draft Basic Law.

Proposal (4) If the report shows that the views of the public are equivocal or the data collected lead to different interpretations and arguments, in other words, the people of Hong Kong cannot reach a conclusion on direct election, the Government should consider carrying out a 'direct election pilot scheme' in 1988. The following are the important features of the scheme:

(1) there should be 8 directly elected seats in the Legislative Council which constitute about 1/5 to 1/6 of the total seats. These seats should be elected by geographical constituencies.

(2) 4 appointed seats and 4 seats elected by electoral college will be reduced (i.e. 10 official members will be retained and the number of appointed members will be reduced to 18 while the number of elected members increased to 28) and the total number of seats remains unchanged (i.e. 57).

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