The Fifth Report

The Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force
Regional Forum (Hong Kong Island)
(19 March 2005)

Discussion Summaries of Group 3
Group Facilitator: Mr Lai Tat-sang

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• The majority of participants supported an increase to 1600.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• Some participants proposed that, if the number of Election Committee members was to be increased, members returned from various trades and businesses should be suitably increased. A participant was of the view that the number of members of each subsector should be adjusted in accordance with the change of its working population.

• The majority of participants agreed to increase the representatives of District Council members. A participant agreed the inclusion of all District Council members as they were representatives of the public. However, a participant took the view that if a District Council member was already the representative of another subsector, he/she should not have double membership.

• Some participants suggested that Chinese medicine be included as a subsector because a Chinese medicine registration system was already in place.

• A participant proposed introducing a subsector for university students, while another participant proposed adding a subsector for owner's corporations.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• Participants held different views on the number of subscribers required for nomination. A participant agreed that the number of subscribers required should maintain at 100, while another considered that the threshold should be lowered. A participant proposed to change the number from one-eighth to one-tenth of the total membership.

• Participants held diverse views on whether or not to set an upper limit.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• The majority of participants considered that the delineation of electorate should be on the basis of registration or recognized systems.

• Some participants considered that corporate voting should remain unchanged, instead of being replaced by individual voting. Some participants opined that even with corporate voting, the vote should be cast by representatives who were elected from within the corporations.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• The majority of participants proposed an increase to 70 seats. One participant considered that the number of seats should remain at 60.

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• The majority of participants agreed to an increase to 35 seats. The five newly added seats should be allocated to different constituencies in proportion to their population.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• The majority of participants agreed to an increase to 35 seats. The main justification was to allow more professionals to participate in the Legislative Council as a balancing force.

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

• Participants generally agreed to broaden the base and size of the electorate of functional constituencies. However, there was no specific proposal.

Provisions regarding Nationality of the Legislative Council Members

• A participant held the view that all Legislative Council Members must be of Chinese nationality because they should love both the country and Hong Kong. However, a participant agreed to maintaining the existing arrangement up to at least 2008, after which the number of seats for Members holding non-Chinese nationalities should be reduced gradually.