The Fifth Report

The Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force
Regional Forum (New Territories East)
(29 January 2005)

Discussion Summaries of Group 6
Group Facilitator: Mr KWOK Kai-hing

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• Participants were of the view that the more Election Committee members there were, the better. They reckoned that since in reality it was not possible to have universal suffrage for the time being, they would prefer to see the Election Committee membership expanded as much as possible in order to take in more people from different sectors.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• Participants were in general agreement that more District Council members should be included in the Election Committee.

• A participant suggested adding representatives of the rural committees or rural villages. Another participant proposed introducing new subsectors for women, youth and elderly.

• Some participants opined that the candidates of the Election Committee should clearly explain to the public how, if they were elected, they would select the Chief Executive.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• Participants generally agreed that the number of subscribers required for nomination should not be maintained at 100. A participant opined that a requirement of 30 subscribers would suffice.

• A participant was of the view that there must be reasons at the time for setting the proportion of subscribers required for nomination at one-eighth of the total membership. These should be carefully examined. In addition, it appeared that setting a proportion would be better than setting an absolute figure.

• Participants agreed to set an upper limit for the number of subscribers required for nomination. A participant proposed that it should not be more than half of all Election Committee members, while another participant suggested one-third.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• Participants had many views on the delineation of the electorate. However, there was one clear opinion: that corporate voting should be replaced by individual voting.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• While participants agreed that the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies should be increased, they did not agree with drastic increases. A participant suggested adding five seats.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• Participants were aware that if the number of geographical constituencies seats were increased, the number of functional constituencies seats would also be increased. However, they hoped that, if at all possible, the number of functional constituencies should not be increased.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of Legislative Council Functional Constituencies

• Participants understood that the ratio between the number of seats in geographical constituencies and functional constituencies had to remain unchanged. However, they considered that the methods for forming the functional constituencies should be reviewed, e.g. the election methods and the number of electors for each constituency.

• Many participants suggested increasing the number of representatives of Heung Yee Kuk or indigenous residents, given that the population of indigenous residents in the New Territories exceeded 800 000.

Provisions regarding Nationality of Legislative Council Members

• Participants agreed that persons with foreign nationality should not be allowed to become Legislative Council Members. There might be historical reasons to allow them to participate in the Legislative Council but it was time to change. However, participants stressed that this did not mean that persons holding foreign passports had no commitment to Hong Kong.

Others

• Participants agreed that the broad direction should be towards universal suffrage. However, they were pragmatic and understood that universal suffrage would not be implemented in 2008.

• A participant proposed to abolish the arrangement for uncontested elections in the functional constituencies. He opined that even if only one candidate was nominated, he should not be regarded as elected unless he was endorsed by more than half of the electors.

Others

• Participants were in general agreement that democracy should be implemented in a gradual and orderly manner, taking into account the actual situation. Moreover, democracy should represent the interests of Hong Kong.