§ 35. Mr. Michael J. MartinTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to visit Hong Kong to discuss the future of the colony.
§ Mr. GoodladMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs hopes to visit Hong Kong again fairly soon.
§ Mr. AdleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total number of people in Hong Kong eligible to register to vote at the recent election; and what was the percentage of those eligible to register to vote who did vote for each of the parties and groups standing for election.
§ Mr. Goodlad[holding answer 30 June 1992.]: The total number of people in Hong Kong eligible to vote in the Legislative Council elections of September 1991 was 3.7 million, of whom 1.9 million registered. The turnout for the 18 directly elected seats was 39 per cent. of those registered to vote. The votes were distributed between the parties as follows:
Per cent. United Democrats 45.14 Meeting Point 7.20 Liberal Democratic Federation 5.09 Association for Democracy and Peoples Livelihood 4.44 Federation of Trade Unions 3.28 Hong Kong Citizen Forum 2.18 Kwun Tong Man Chung Friendship Promotion Association 1.55 Hong Kong Democratic Foundation 1.44 New Hong Kong Alliance 0.87 Independent Liberal Candidates 9.35 Other Groups and Independent Candidates 19.43
§ Sir David SteelTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Public Security Bureau of China was invited to have an official presence in Hong Kong; what are the remit and jurisdictions of the Public Security Bureau in Hong Kong;592W how many staff are employed in the Hong Kong office of the Public Security Bureau; to whom they are accountable within the Government of Hong Kong; what access the Public Security Bureau will have to information held by the Hong Kong police; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladAn agreement between the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) and the Chinese Ministry of Public Security (PSB) to send one to three liaison officers to Hong Kong was announced on 9 May 1992. The aim is to enable quicker and more effective co-operation on criminal matters, particularly violent crime and smuggling, which is causing serious public concern in Hong Kong. As with the eight other countries with police liaison officers in Hong Kong, the PSB liaison officers will have no jurisdiction, constabulary powers or operational role. They will have no automatic access to information held by the RHKP.