§ Lady HermonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent elections in Hong Kong. [142667]
§ Mr. RammellDistrict council elections took place in Hong Kong on 23 November 2003. Over a million people voted, 44 per cent. of those registered to do so, compared with a 36 per cent. turnout in the previous district council elections in 1999. The parties that secured the most out of the 400 seats available were the Democratic Party with 95 and the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB), which secured 62 seats. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is entitled to choose up to an additional 102 people to sit in various district councils but has yet to announce these.
We continue to follow developments in Hong Kong closely. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary continues to report regularly to the House on the implementation of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong. The last such report, which covered the first six months of this year, was published in July (Cmnd 5864).