The Fifth Report

The Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force
Regional Forum (Kowloon)
(23 March 2005)

Discussion Summaries of Group 3
Group Facilitator: Mr TSO Kai-lok

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• Participants agreed that there was a need to increase the number of Election Committee members. The majority of participants suggested an expansion to 1 600 members. A participant considered an increase to 1 200 members sufficient.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• Participants held the view that the current composition of the Election Committee should remain unchanged.

• Participants hoped to increase the number of representatives from District Councils. The reason was that District Council members were elected by local people, thus this was an element of universal suffrage and they were more representative.

• A participant proposed introducing new subsectors for important businesses, such as financial services, logistics, tourism, tourist guides, drivers, etc.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• The majority of participants were of the view that the current requirement of 100 subscribers was sufficient. A participant suggested that the number of subscribers required should be increased to 200.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• A participant was of the view that the delineation and size of the electorate should be expanded to enhance the representativeness and legitimacy of the Election Committee.

• Some participants suggested replacing corporate voting with individual voting, as a step towards universal suffrage.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• Participants considered that 60 seats were sufficient because any increase in seats would incur additional Government expenses. It would also lead to more disputes, thus hampering the decision-making process.

• A participant proposed an increase to 68 seats, with additional seats to be allocated to both the functional and geographical constituencies, each with four additional seats.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• A participant suggested adding four new constituencies for, respectively, Chinese medicine practitioners, Chinese medicine, enterprises, and financial sectors.

Provisions regarding Nationality of the Legislative Council Members

• Many participants held the view that the current requirement should be maintained because it was meant to be an upper limit only. The provision could demonstrate that Hong Kong, as a diversified and international city, respected contributions made by people of different races and nationalities. Regardless of their nationalities, Legislative Council Members were all returned by election. The choice of voters must be respected.

Others

• Participants were of the view that as universal suffrage was the ultimate goal, elements of universal suffrage should be incorporated into the two electoral methods. Participants also took the view that universal suffrage should be implemented in a gradual and orderly manner, and that the pace of change should not be too rapid.