ENG-1994 — Page 42

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

By late February 1994, it was clear that the legislative process for the remaining proposals must begin if the legislation was to be enacted in time for the elections. On February 25, the Legislative Council (Electoral Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 1994 was gazetted, for introduction into the Legislative Council on March 9. It provided for, in respect of the 1995 Legislative Council elections, the abolition of all forms of corporate voting in functional constituency elections; the expansion in the franchise of five existing professional functional constituencies (social service; teaching; health care; architectural, surveying and planning; and tourism); the creation of nine new functional constituencies, covering the entire working population; and the establishment of an election committee to elect 10 Legislative Council members. The nine new functional constituencies cover the primary production, power and construction; textiles and garments; manufacturing; import and export; wholesale and retail; hotels and catering; transport and communications; financing, insurance, real estate and business services; and community, social and personal services sectors. The election committee is to comprise all elected district board members, while candidature for the 10 Legislative Council seats would be open to all electors registered in the general electoral roll.

On the same day, the British Government published a White Paper on Representative Government, giving a full account of what the talks between the British and Chinese sides were about, why agreement was not possible, and how it was intended to proceed.

The Legislative Council (Electoral Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 1994 was passed by the Legislative Council with a clear majority (32 votes for, and 24 votes against) on June 30.

The district board elections were successfully held on September 18 under the new provisions. A record number of 693 000 voters turned out to vote for the 296 contested seats some 270 000 more than the number of voters in the 1991 district board elections. The turnout rate of 33.1 per cent was also slightly higher than the 32.5 per cent in 1991. Fifty seats were uncontested and the only candidates nominated for these were automatically returned.

General

Hong Kong is administered by the Hong Kong Government, which is headed by the Governor. The Governor is the representative of the Queen in Hong Kong. He has the ultimate direction of the administration of Hong Kong. An Executive Council offers advice to the Governor on important matters of policy.

At the central level of the three-tier system of representative government, the Legislative Council passes laws, debates policy issues and controls public expenditure. At the regional level, the two municipal councils - the Urban Council and the Regional Council — pro- vide public health, cultural and recreational services in their respective regions. At the district level, 18 district boards (19 before October 1) offer advice on the implementation of policies in their districts and provide an effective forum for public consultation.

Under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration 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.

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