Seminars and Discussion Group

Home Affairs Department
Focus Group
Constitutional Development
(23 July 2004)

Group Discussion Summaries

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• Some participants proposed to increase the number of members of the Election Committee. A participant suggested having all four sectors be increased by the same proportion.
  
  

• A participant suggested that the Election Committee be expanded up to 3 000 members.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• A participant suggested adding all the Hong Kong Deputies to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Committee in the Election Committee.
  
  

• A participant opined that all District Councillors, co-opted members, Area Committee members and representatives from housing estates should be included in the Election Committee.
  
  

• A participant suggested that District Council members be added to the Election Committee based on a proportional system and by a random draw among all district councillors.
  
  

• A participant commented that in the professional sector, the distribution of the number of members returned by each sub-sector was unsatisfactory. He suggested that the number of members for each sub-sector should be proportional to their respective electorate.
  
  

• A participant considered that representatives from small and medium enterprises should be included in the Commerce and Finance sector.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• A participant considered that the number of subscribers required should be reduced so that more nominations could be put up. Another participant suggested reducing the percentage of subscribers required to 5% of the total number of members of the Election Committee.
  
  

• A participant was of the view that an upper limit should be set for the number of subscribers required. He suggested that the number should not exceed 10% of the total number of members of the Election Committee.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• Some participants considered that the electorate should be broadened.
  
  

• A participant opined that corporate voting should be replaced by individual voting.

Others

• A participant opined that a "road-map" for constitutional development should be developed so as to give direction to the future discussions on constitutional reform.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• Some participants suggested increasing the number of seats in the Legislative Council. A participant suggested an increase to 70 seats.
  
  

• Another participant objected to increasing the number of seats in the Legislative Council. He proposed to retain the number of seats at 30 seats returned by direct election in geographical constituency and 30 seats by functional constituency.

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• A participant opined that consideration might be given to increasing the number of seats returned by geographical constituency.
  
  

• A participant proposed that the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies could be increased to 35.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• A participant considered that new functional constituencies could be introduced and that the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies could be increased accordingly.
  
  

• A participant proposed to increase the number of seats returned by functional constituencies to 35.
  
  

• A participant hoped that there would be more seats for the education sector.

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

• A participant hoped to expand the electorate of the Insurance sector to include all practitioners.
  
  

• A participant opined that the current election system of the functional constituencies should be improved so as to enhance the legitimacy of the representatives from each constituency.
  
  

• A participant commented that the election for functional constituencies should be participated by the electorate of that constituency based on "one person one vote".

Provisions regarding Nationality of Legislative Council Members

• Some participants were of the view that all Legislative Council Members should be Chinese nationals so as to show their allegiance to China.
  
  

• Another participant disagreed with the above suggestion. He pointed out that as Hong Kong is an international city, some industries would have many members with foreign nationalities. The proposed restriction on the nationality of Legislative Council Members would damper the attraction of Hong Kong to talents.
  
  

• A participant considered that Legislative Council Members with non-Chinese nationality might be allowed, provided that they were not involved in the business of foreign governments or Councils.
  
  

• A participant was of the view that the current provision for non-Chinese Legislative Council Members could be retained.
  
  

• Another participant said that it was unfair to allow certain functional constituencies to have members holding foreign nationality. He suggested that such provision should be abolished.

Others

• A participant suggested introducing a legislative requirement stipulating that Legislative Councillors should be full-time members. A participant opposed, saying that Legislative Council Members from functional constituencies should not be restricted by such provision so as to ensure their representativeness in their industries.