The Fifth Report

Foreword

Public Consultation for the Fourth Report

On 15 December 2004, the Constitutional Development Task Force (the Task Force) published its Fourth Report, which provided an account of views and suggestions from the public on areas which may be considered for amendment in respect of the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008, and further solicited the views of the community. The public could submit their views through the following channels:

• by post to the Constitutional Development Task Force Secretariat;
• by e-mail; or
• by fax (number: 2523 3207).

2. The consultation period for the Fourth Report was originally scheduled to expire on 31 March 2005. The Task Force extended the consultation deadline to 31 May 2005 to facilitate more in-depth discussions among the public. The consultation period lasted five and a half months.

Public Submissions

3. At the close of the consultation period, we received a total of 460 written submissions from individuals and organizations relating to the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008. Among them, 191 submissions were put forward by organizations. All the submissions, save for those which requested confidentiality, are copied at Appendix I to this Report. The submissions have been arranged, where possible, in chronological order of the date of submission. Separately, 27 submissions for which confidentiality is requested have been handled accordingly.

4. In addition, we received 147 submissions relating to the Chief Executive by-election or the term of office of the new Chief Executive. Save for those which confidentiality is requested, we have deposited these submissions with the Wan Chai District Office Public Enquiry Services Centre at G/F, 2 O'Brien Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong for public inspection.

5. We also received 133 letters and electronic mail addressed to the Task Force, the contents of which are, in our view, outside the scope of the Fourth Report or constitutional development. We therefore have not included them in Appendix I to this Report. A set of these submissions have been deposited with the Wan Chai District Office Public Enquiry Services Centre at G/F, 2 O'Brien Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong for public inspection.

Electronic mail and facsimile that cannot be further processed

6. Facsimiles received during the consultation period which were advertisements were not processed further. In addition, according to notifications issued to us by the Central Internet Gateway of the HKSAR Government, over 500 pieces of electronic mail addressed to the Task Force's mailbox were spam mail or were suspected of being virus-infected. They were not processed further.

Commercial lines contained in submissions

7. For submissions that came by electronic mail, we have removed advertising message, if any, contained in them. The contents of these submissions are otherwise published in their entirety.

Handling of Personal Data

8. In order to safeguard privacy, we have removed senders' addresses when publishing their electronic mails in this Report. Other personal data, such as residential addresses, Identity Card numbers and telephone numbers, where provided, have also been removed.

9. Similarly, we have adopted the same approach in handling submissions which came in by post or by fax. All personal data, including return addresses, facsimile numbers, and Identity Card numbers have been removed.

10. Where the senders requested anonymity, we respect their wishes and have removed their names from the relevant submissions. We have encountered a number of submissions in which the senders have not provided us with a valid return address or facsimile number. We are unable to ascertain whether these persons want their identity to be made known when their views are published. In these circumstances, we have removed their names from the relevant submissions.

Copyright Handling

11. Some submissions to the Task Force contained newspaper cuttings or extracts of books / magazines. As these articles involve copyright, they are not published in this Report unless the senders have shown that they have obtained written consent from the publisher or the copyright owner concerned.

Submissions after 31 May 2005

12. We have included in Appendix I to this Report submissions which are dated 31 May 2005 or before. We received 74 submissions after that date. As these submissions reached the Task Force after the close of the consultation period, in line with our established practice, they have not been reflected in the account of public views in this Report. We have adopted the same approach as outlined above in processing these submissions, and have included them in the Addendum to Appendix I for public information. Separately, two submissions for which confidentiality is requested have been handled accordingly. There are another 85 submissions which, in our view, are outside the scope of the Fourth Report or constitutional development and have been handled in accordance with paragraph 5 above.

Listening to Public Views Direct

13. To listen to public views direct on how to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008, during the period from January to March, the Task Force commissioned the Home Affairs Department to organize two open forums for the general public, and four regional forums for people from different sectors of the community. In total, more than 730 participants attended these six forums; details are shown in the Table on page 16.

14. In addition, the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs and his representatives attended meetings of the 18 District Councils to gather first hand views of District Council members.

Open Forums

15. The two open forums were open to the general public. About one week before each forum, there were newspaper advertisements and radio APIs to publicize the event. A notice was also posted on the Constitutional Development Website.

16. In the interest of fairness, the order of speaking was decided according to the lots drawn by the facilitators of the open forums. Each participant could freely express their views on the Fourth Report within the time limit.

17. In view of the limited time available, some participants might not have had the opportunity to express their views. Therefore, participants were encouraged by the facilitators to send in supplementary views or proposals in writing to the Task Force direct.

18. Further, to enhance transparency, the Task Force had made arrangements to open to the media the whole proceedings of the forums. The video clips of the two open forums have also been uploaded onto the Constitutional Development Website for public viewing.

Regional Forums

19. In order to allow for more in-depth discussion and exchange of views, participants of the regional forums were divided into groups of around 15 each. Discussions were conducted in these small groups and were led by facilitators invited by the Task Force to help out on a voluntary basis. During the discussions, note-takers would record the views expressed, without attribution, on flipcharts so that participants could refer to those views in the first instance.

20. At the end of the group discussions, the facilitators would go through the flipcharts with their group members to confirm that the recorded views were the main points discussed. The facilitators would then report the main points discussed at the plenary sessions in the presence of all participants.

21. In view of the limited time available, the facilitators might not be able to report all the views expressed in the group discussion. Participants were, therefore, encouraged to send in supplementary views or proposals in writing to the Task Force direct.

22. Further, to enhance transparency, the Task Force had made arrangements to open to the media the reporting sessions of the forums. The video clips of the reporting sessions and the main points discussed at the regional forums have been uploaded onto the Constitutional Development Website for public viewing.

23. All the main points discussed at the regional forum are provided at Appendix II to this Report.

District Council Meetings

24. The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs and his representatives attended meetings of 18 District Councils to gather first hand views of District Council members on constitutional development. With the agreement of the District Councils, the relevant extracts of the meeting notes have been uploaded onto the Constitutional Development Website (www.cab-review.gov.hk) for public information, and are produced at Appendix III to this Report. The meeting notes were prepared by the respective District Council Secretariats and confirmed by the respective District Councils.

25. If there is anything amiss or any opinion has been left out in compiling this Report, we will issue a corrigendum as and when necessary. We apologise for any inconvenience that might be caused.

Table: Constitutional Development Open Forums and Regional Forums