310
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
nine or eighteen constituencies, it doesn't really affect convergence. However, I would like to point out one thing. In accordance with the White Paper on Political Development, both the Regional Council and Urban Council would get one seat each through indirect election to Legislative Council. According to recent report, this is not going to have any change although the ten directly elected seats on Legislative Council as proposed in the White Paper has been increased to eighteen. I am of the view that we should be entitled to two seats rather than one seat to be indirectly elected to Legislative Council. At present, we have got one seat in the Legislative Council. Very often Legislative Council's area of responsibilities has a very close relation with the Urban Council and only one Urban Council representative on the Legislative Council appears to be insufficient to cope with the demand and I think this is far from satisfactory. I understand that the commercial sector gets two seats, the labour sector gets two seats and so I think the Central Government should consider giving two indirectly elected seats to the Urban Council until the number of directly elected seats is increased in the future, and adjustment can be made then. In the past, the Urban Council had got two or three members sitting on Legislative Council but of course some of them were appointed or elected Members. Those who were Legislative Council member and Urban Council member at the same time have helped to improve the liaison between the two Councils to a great extent. Nevertheless, all members including myself are very much concerned about the political development and let's hope that we can express our own views. May be next year, a lot of my colleagues will participate in the District Board election in March, the Urban Council election in May or even the Legislative Council election in September.
Sir, with these words, I beg to move.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU, VICE-CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, the political reform in 1991 is a middle transition before the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. It has been decided that there will be eighteen directly elected seats in Legislative Council and also a number of official members might be reduced. In order to make sure that the Legislative Council will function smoothly, I suggest the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will liaise with the Chinese Government as soon as possible so that the panel Chairmen of the Legislative Council could be given some sort of authority and status to answer questions or move some resolutions on behalf of the official members at the Legislative Council meetings.
Regarding constituency, originally I suggested that there should be five constituencies which was to allow those who were interested in election to gain sufficient experience, to go through community work, to prove their leadership and create a talented image before they could be elected. There should be three to four seats for each constituency and the minimum should be two. In other words, we can divide Hong Kong into nine constituencies and the population should be greater than the Urban Council election population and the area should be much enlarged so as not to affect the UC and DB members running
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
311
for their elections and to be able to continue to work at district levels in future. On the other hand, the seats for functional constituencies will be increased from sixteen to thirty. It appears to me that those functional bodies which apart from bearing some professional qualifications may also bring some conflicts of interest. In order to avoid the demerits of having small constituencies in direct election, the functional constituencies should also be enlarged. For example, two seats rather than one seat should be allocated to commercial, industrial and the service sectors. In 1995, the LegCo election will be regarded as a direct through train beyond 1997. Another arrangement will have to be made to those appointed members. If not enough suitable members are elected, the Administration can perhaps identify some people from advisory boards, committees and the two Municipal Councils and the District Boards to form a grand electoral college. Of course, I am only just referring to the 1995 election. As to how the post-1997 grand electoral college should be formed, that is another matter. Perhaps the Chief Executive can continue to appoint members to the Legislative Council from the Urban Council or the District Boards. In this way, definitely it will help to promote the stability and prosperity. If we adopt the through-train approach in 1997 then Legislative Council Members must be strictly in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Basic Law. As foreign passport holders cannot exceed 20% of the total number of membership in the Legislative Council, I don't know whether the Administration is clear about this issue and how this can be implemented. If the restriction is imposed before the election, then I am sure that the 20% membership can not be achieved. If it is to be decided after the election, does that mean that we will have to employ the method to choose members now being used by the Mark Six Lottery.
Sir, I beg to second the motion.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Whether we like it or not, the final draft Basic Law in all likelihood will be soon passed by the National People's Congress with little or no amendment. In Hong Kong, there are some who accept it, some who think it is not democratic enough and does not meet the aspirations of the majority of Hong Kong people, there are others who say it is unacceptable and a failure-in fact, a wide spectrum of perceptions on the draft Basic Law.
I personally think the political model could have been more democratic, and in the coming years I will do the very best I can to see where improvements and changes can be made in this direction in form and in practice. All of us- -and this includes Urban Councillors must work together for a smooth transition through 1997 and to generate more understanding, courage and strength in facing up to Hong Kong's future as a Special Administrative Region under Chinese sovereignty.
After the Basic Law is promulgated, we will have a mini-constitution coming into force in Hong Kong in 1997. Whatever misgivings Hong Kong community leaders have or whatever defects we perceive in the Basic Law, we will have to
310
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
nine or eighteen constituencies, it doesn't really affect convergence. However, I would like to point out one thing. In accordance with the White Paper on Political Development, both the Regional Council and Urban Council would get one seat each through indirect election to Legislative Council. According to recent report, this is not going to have any change although the ten directly elected seats on Legislative Council as proposed in the White Paper has been increased to eighteen. I am of the view that we should be entitled to two seats rather than one seat to be indirectly elected to Legislative Council. At present, we have got one seat in the Legislative Council. Very often Legislative Council's area of responsibilities has a very close relation with the Urban Council and only one Urban Council representative on the Legislative Council appears to be insufficient to cope with the demand and I think this is far from satisfactory. I understand that the commercial sector gets two seats, the labour sector gets two seats and so I think the Central Government should consider giving two indirectly elected seats to the Urban Council until the number of directly elected seats is increased in the future, and adjustment can be made then. In the past, the Urban Council had got two or three members sitting on Legislative Council but of course some of them were appointed or elected Members. Those who were Legislative Council member and Urban Council member at the same time have helped to improve the liaison between the two Councils to a great extent. Nevertheless, all members including myself are very much concerned about the political development and let's hope that we can express our own views. May be next year, a lot of my colleagues will participate in the District Board election in March, the Urban Council election in May or even the Legislative Council election in September.
Sir, with these words, I beg to move.
MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU, VICE-CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, the political reform in 1991 is a middle transition before the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. It has been decided that there will be eighteen directly elected seats in Legislative Council and also a number of official members might be reduced. In order to make sure that the Legislative Council will function smoothly, I suggest the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will liaise with the Chinese Government as soon as possible so that the panel Chairmen of the Legislative Council could be given some sort of authority and status to answer questions or move some resolutions on behalf of the official members at the Legislative Council meetings.
Regarding constituency, originally I suggested that there should be five constituencies which was to allow those who were interested in election to gain sufficient experience, to go through community work, to prove their leadership and create a talented image before they could be elected. There should be three to four seats for each constituency and the minimum should be two. In other words, we can divide Hong Kong into nine constituencies and the population should be greater than the Urban Council election population and the area should be much enlarged so as not to affect the UC and DB members running
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
311
for their elections and to be able to continue to work at district levels in future. On the other hand, the seats for functional constituencies will be increased from sixteen to thirty. It appears to me that those functional bodies which apart from bearing some professional qualifications may also bring some conflicts of interest. In order to avoid the demerits of having small constituencies in direct election, the functional constituencies should also be enlarged. For example, two seats rather than one seat should be allocated to commercial, industrial and the service sectors. In 1995, the LegCo election will be regarded as a direct through train beyond 1997. Another arrangement will have to be made to those appointed members. If not enough suitable members are elected, the Administration can perhaps identify some people from advisory boards, committees and the two Municipal Councils and the District Boards to form a grand electoral college. Of course, I am only just referring to the 1995 election. As to how the post-1997 grand electoral college should be formed, that is another matter. Perhaps the Chief Executive can continue to appoint members to the Legislative Council from the Urban Council or the District Boards. In this way, definitely it will help to promote the stability and prosperity. If we adopt the through-train approach in 1997 then Legislative Council Members must be strictly in accordance with the criteria laid down in the Basic Law. As foreign passport holders cannot exceed 20% of the total number of membership in the Legislative Council, I don't know whether the Administration is clear about this issue and how this can be implemented. If the restriction is imposed before the election, then I am sure that the 20% membership can not be achieved. If it is to be decided after the election, does that mean that we will have to employ the method to choose members now being used by the Mark Six Lottery.
Sir, I beg to second the motion.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):-Whether we like it or not, the final draft Basic Law in all likelihood will be soon passed by the National People's Congress with little or no amendment. In Hong Kong, there are some who accept it, some who think it is not democratic enough and does not meet the aspirations of the majority of Hong Kong people, there are others who say it is unacceptable and a failure-in fact, a wide spectrum of perceptions on the draft Basic Law.
I personally think the political model could have been more democratic, and in the coming years I will do the very best I can to see where improvements and changes can be made in this direction in form and in practice. All of us- -and this includes Urban Councillors must work together for a smooth transition through 1997 and to generate more understanding, courage and strength in facing up to Hong Kong's future as a Special Administrative Region under Chinese sovereignty.
After the Basic Law is promulgated, we will have a mini-constitution coming into force in Hong Kong in 1997. Whatever misgivings Hong Kong community leaders have or whatever defects we perceive in the Basic Law, we will have to
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.