§ Mr. Maloneasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the further development of representative government in Hong Kong.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe Honk Kong Government have today published a White Paper on the further development of representative Government in the territory. Copies of this paper have been placed in the Library of the House.
After the publication on 18 July of the Green Paper on representative government, two months were allowed for public comment, which was received from a wide variety of sources. There was general support for the aims of the Green Paper and the gradual and progressive nature of the proposals made in it. The White Paper, which takes account of these views, sets out the Hong Kong Government's intentions for the 1985 elections to the Legislative Council.
The main points in it are:
- (a) Twelve members (rather than six as proposed in the Green Paper) will be elected to the Legislative Council by an electoral college in 1985. Ten will be elected by groups of district board members, organised on a regional basis, and one each by the urban council and the proposed new regional council.
- (b) Twelve members (instead of the six originally proposed) will be elected in 1985 from nine functional constituencies representing various important, sectors of the community.
- (c) The number of appointed members of the Legislative Council will be reduced in 1985 from the present total of 30 to
189 22 (instead of the 23 envisaged in the Green Paper) and the number of official members from the present 16 to 10 (instead of 13). - (d) As a result of the above changes the membership of the Legislative Council will increase from 46 to 56. 24 of these will be elected.
- (e) A further review of progress towards representative government will be made in 1987 (rather than 1989 as envisaged in the Green Paper).