HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
21
Coming back to the subject of my speech, I will first talk about the progress of democratization of the political system.
Following the introduction of representative government in Hong Kong, the Council has experienced five elections since 1983, with the democratic component gradually increasing. After the election last March, the Urban Council has become a fully elected council.
With a high proportion of democratic element in the new Urban Council, there has never been any problem in the operation of the fully directly-elected Urban Council in the past few months. While debates in these chambers have become more heated and meetings of the Council have become longer, the Council's accountability to the public and overall credibility have been much strengthened. Furthermore, among us here, three appointed members from the last term stood bravely in front of the voters and took part in the direct election last March. Some of them even succeeded in defeating Members from the Democratic Party. This deserves our respect as it was an extremely great challenge for them. You, Mr. Chairman, being one of them stand for the election and face the public. So, let me salute you here.
Hence, I cannot see any reason for supporting China's claim that 10 appointed seats should be re-introduced in the two Municipal Councils after 1997. Moreover, such an act of putting the clock back is not stipulated in the 'Basic Law'. This is a retrogressive step in the course of democratic development.
China's announcement of re-introducing appointed seats is, no doubt, just a superfluous move to save her face and repudiate the '3-violations' political system introduced by Mr. Patten. Of course, I am glad to hear Mr. Joseph Chan Yuek-sut propose that the Urban Council should take a ‘through train' so that no Councillors will be required to ‘alight' and that no re-election should be held and the Urban Council need not be dissolved. However, there is one point that I would like to bring out specifically for discussion in this year's Annual Conventional Debate: We should not accept the proposal that in the Oath of Allegiance, loyalty should be pledged to the Five-Star Flag and the SAR Flag. At present, allegiance is not pledged to the British Government at the commencement of every term of the Legislative Council. Legislative Councillors no longer choose to pledge their allegiance to the Queen, nor do they pledge their loyalty to the Hong Kong Government. Instead, they pledge their allegiance to the Hong Kong people. This makes a great difference. If I may continue to serve on the Urban Council in the future, I will not give my allegiance to the SAR government, the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party. I will be accountable to the Hong Kong people and so I will pledge my allegiance to them. The difference is very significant. Therefore, I cannot agree to pledge allegiance to the Five-Star Flag or the SAR Flag.
As regards the financial matters of the Hong Kong Stadium:
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
21
Coming back to the subject of my speech, I will first talk about the progress of democratization of the political system.
Following the introduction of representative government in Hong Kong, the Council has experienced five elections since 1983, with the democratic component gradually increasing. After the election last March, the Urban Council has become a fully elected council.
With a high proportion of democratic element in the new Urban Council, there has never been any problem in the operation of the fully directly-elected Urban Council in the past few months. While debates in these chambers have become more heated and meetings of the Council have become longer, the Council's accountability to the public and overall credibility have been much strengthened. Furthermore, among us here, three appointed members from the last term stood bravely in front of the voters and took part in the direct election last March. Some of them even succeeded in defeating Members from the Democratic Party. This deserves our respect as it was an extremely great challenge for them. You, Mr. Chairman, being one of them stand for the election and face the public. So, let me salute you here.
Hence, I cannot see any reason for supporting China's claim that 10 appointed seats should be re-introduced in the two Municipal Councils after 1997. Moreover, such an act of putting the clock back is not stipulated in the 'Basic Law'. This is a retrogressive step in the course of democratic development.
China's announcement of re-introducing appointed seats is, no doubt, just a superfluous move to save her face and repudiate the *3-violations' political system introduced by Mr. Patten. Of course, I am glad to hear Mr. Joseph Chan Yuek-sut propose that the Urban Council should take a ‘through train' so that no Councillors will be required to ‘alight" and that no re-election should be held and the Urban Council need not be dissolved. However, there is one point that I would like to bring out specifically for discussion in this year's Annual Conventional Debate: We should not accept the proposal that in the Oath of Allegiance, loyalty should be pledged to the Five-Star Flag and the SAR Flag. At present, allegiance is not pledged to the British Government at the commencement of every term of the Legislative Council. Legislative Councillors no longer choose to pledge their allegiance to the Queen, nor do they pledge their loyalty to the Hong Kong Government. Instead, they pledge their allegiance to the Hong Kong people. This makes a great difference. If I may continue to serve on the Urban Council in the future, I will not give my allegiance to the SAR government, the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party. I will be accountable to the Hong Kong people and so I will pledge my allegiance to them. The difference is very significant. Therefore, I cannot agree to pledge allegiance to the Five-Star Flag or the SAR Flag.
As regards the financial matters of the Hong Kong Stadium:
Page 308 of 485
Page 308 of 485
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