ENG-1990 — Page 36

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CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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HONG KONG is administered by the Hong Kong Government, and its administration has developed from the basic pattern applied in all British-governed territories overseas. The head of the Hong Kong Government is the Governor. Under the terms of the Joint Declaration of the British and Chinese Governments on the Question of Hong Kong which entered into force on May 27, 1985, Hong Kong will become, with effect from July 1, 1997, a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

- The Governor has the ultimate direction of the administration of Hong Kong. He is advised on the development of policy and other matters by an Executive Council. Legislation is enacted and funds provided by the Legislative Council, the members of which also debate policy and question the administration. There are two municipal councils, the Urban Council and the Regional Council, which have a statutory res- ponsibility to provide public health, cultural and recreational services in the areas for which they are responsible. In addition, 19 District Boards cover the territory. They advise on the implementation of policies at district level and provide an effective forum for public consultation.

In 1987, the government published a Green Paper which sought the views of the community on whether the system of representative government should be further developed and, if so, in what manner. The White Paper, published in February 1988, charted the course of political development up to 1991 and contained a number of major decisions in relation to elections to the Legislative Council (including, in particular, the introduction for the first time of 10 directly-elected seats in 1991); the composition of the Legislative Council; the presidency of the Legislative Council; the role and composition of the two Municipal Councils and the District Boards; the links between the three tiers of representative government, and various practical electoral arrangements.

Since publication of the White Paper, public opinion has changed and there is now a widely-held view in the community that there should be a somewhat faster rate of political development in 1991 than previously envisaged and, in particular, that the number of directly-elected seats in the Legislative Council should be increased.

In the light of this, the government reviewed reactions to the White Paper in the second half of 1989 and early 1990. This culminated in the announcement, in March 1990, that the Legislative Council would be re-constituted in 1991 to include 18 directly-elected members from geographical constituencies and 21 indirectly-elected members from functional constituencies. The number of appointed members would be reduced to 17 and the seven