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3.
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we
hensively. However when we affirm the powers of the Chief Executive, we should also vest the legislature with corresponding powers, so that the latter could monitor the Chief Executive and the executive authorities effectively. According to the Draft, the powers vested in the legislature are extremely insufficient.
The powers of the legislature should include: casting no confidence votes against the Chief Executive, impeaching major officials and monitoring the operation of the executive authorities. The president of the Legislature should be elected among members of the Legislative Council. Only then could the legislature effectively check and balance the executive authorities. However all parties at present focus their attention on the alternatives for electing the Chief Executive. The main reason is that all parties show concern for the quality of the newly elected Chief Executive and the political party he is inclined to. But if we could focus more attention on a sound political system, like democratic countries such as the US, then the possible influence of the Chief Executive elected, be he a person of high or middle calibre, will be no more than just expediting or delaying the pace of social development, instead of changing the political system of society. With regard to the chapter on political structure in the Draft, may I request those in the political and legal sectors to examine it prudently and in detail again in order to make suitable amendments.
The only alternative prescribed in Annex III is biased and lopsided, neither paying regard to the well-being of the Hong Kong people at large nor taking the balanced development of society into consideration.
The Annex proposes only one method for the formation of the first Government and the first Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The selection of the candidate for the office of the first Chief Executive through consultation will inevitably put the first Government and the first Legislative Council of the HKSAR under the profound influence of the Central Government. Moreover, since such a method will surely be very different from subsequent elections, it will be detrimental to the steady development of the political system.
I would like to take this opportunity to put forward another modus operandi for the selection of the Chief Executive and the formation of the Legislative Council. It involves the establishment of a Nominating Committee per direct election by various occupational constituencies (please see 'Proposed Composition of Nominating Committee/Election Committee on the basis of occupational constituency for selecting the Candidates for the Chief Executive and the allocation of seats in the Legislature' in Appendix I).
The virtue of the option is that the Nominating Committee so formed will be broadly representative. For details on the selection procedures and the related time schedule, please refer to Appendix II. It will be more democratic and reasonable in resorting to the broadly representative Nominating committee and the one-person-one-vote election in making our final decisions. However, in view of the numerous elections to be held within the years of 1996 and 1997, the selection of the Chief Executive by means of a universal election will probably impose problems on the timing of elections and on the adaptability of the general public. To avoid complication at the initial stage, the first Government should be elected by the 'expanded' Nominating committee composed of 430 members (i.e. the Election Committee) and then appointed by the Central Government. In this way, not only can China's sovereignty over Hong Kong be effected, the spirit of democratic elections as prescribed in the Joint Declaration can also be adhered to. The procedure of nomination by the Nominating Committee followed by a general election on a one-person-one-vote basis should then be adopted for the formation of the second and third governments. The concept of representativeness of occupational constituencies is a complex issue, involving technical as well as timing problems, and awaits supplement of further details. Hardly can the concept be expounded by verbal means. Thus, it is hoped that fellow Members will refer to the appendices and make due comments on the proposal. Finally, I hope that more Hong Kong people will voice their views and listen to those of others so that a consensus of opinions can be achieved. More importantly, I hope that the British Government will sincerely co-operate with the Chinese Government after the formulation of the Basic Law so that the representative government of Hong Kong will develop properly and steadily along the line laid down in the Basic Law, fulfilling its unique historical mission.
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Page 73 of 182
FI
138
3.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
we
hensively. However when we affirm the powers of the Chief Executive, v should also vest the legislature with corresponding powers, so that the latter could monitor the Chief Executive and the executive authorities effectively. According to the Draft, the powers vested in the legislature are
extremely insufficient.
The powers of the legislature should include: casting no confidence votes against the Chief Executive, impeaching major officials and monitoring the operation of the executive authorities. The president of the Legislature should be elected among members of the Legislative Council. Only then could the legislature effectively check and balance the executive authorities. However all parties at present focus their attention on the alternatives for electing the Chief Executive. The main reason is that all parties show concern for the quality of the newly elected Chief Executive and the political party he is inclined to. But if we could focus more attention on a sound political system, like democratic countries such as the US, then the possible influence of the Chief Executive elected, be he a person of high or middle calibre, will be no more than just expediting or delaying the pace of social development, instead of changing the political system of society. With regard to the chapter on political structure in the Draft, may I request those in the political and legal sectors to examine it prudently and in detail again in order to make suitable amendments.
The only alternative prescribed in Annex III is biased and lopsided, neither paying regard to the well-being of the Hong Kong people at large nor taking the balanced development of society into consideration.
The Annex proposes only one method for the formation of the first Government and the first Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The selection of the candidate for the office of the first Chief Executive through consultation will inevitably put the first Government and the first Legislative Council of the HKSAR under the profound influence of the Central Government. Moreover, since such a method will surely be very different from subsequent elections, it will be detrimental to the steady development of the political system.
I would like to take this opportuntiy to put forward another modus operandi for the selection of the Chief Executive and the formation of the Legislative Council. It involves the establishment of a Nominating Committee per direct election by various occupational constituencies (please see 'Proposed Composition of Nominating Committee/Election Committee on the basis of occupational constituency for selecting the Candidates for the Chief Executive and the allocation of seats in the Legislature' in Appendix I).
The virtue of the option is that the Nominating Committee so formed will be broadly representative. For details on the selection procedures and the related time schedule, please refer to Appendix II. It will be more
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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democratic and reasonable in resorting to the broadly representative Nominating committee and the one-person-one-vote election in making our final decisions. However, in view of the numerous elections to be held within the years of 1996 and 1997, the selection of the Chief Executive by means of a universal election will probably impose problems on the timing of elections and on the adaptability of the general public. To avoid complication at the initial stage, the first Government should be elected by the 'expanded' Nominating committee composed of 430 members (i.e. the Election Committee) and then appointed by the Central Government. In this way, not only can China's sovereignty over Hong Kong be effected, the spirit of democratic elections as prescribed in the Joint Declaration can also be adhered to. The procedure of nomination by the Nominating Committee followed by a general election on a one-person-one-vote basis should then be adopted for the formation of the second and third governments. The concept of representativeness of occupational constit- uencies is a complex issue, involving technical as well as timing problems, and awaits supplement of further details. Hardly can the concept be expounded by verbal means. Thus, it is hoped that fellow Members will refer to the appendices and make due comments on the proposal. Finally, I hope that more Hong Kong people will voice their views and listen to those of others so that a consensus of opinions can be achieved. More importantly, I hope that the British Government will sincerely co-operate with the Chinese Government after the formulation of the Basic Law so that the representative government of Hong Kong will develop properly and steadily along the line laid down in the Basic Law, fulfilling its unique historical mission.
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