Seminars and Discussion Group

Constitutional Development Task Force
Focus Group
(26 July 2004)

Group Discussion Summaries
Group Facilitator: Professor Leung Tin-pui

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• The majority of participants supported an increase in the number of members of the Election Committee. The magnitude of increase proposed ranged from double (1 600) to 20 times (16 000).
  
  

• A participant disagreed and considered that representativeness was more important than figures. An Election Committee of 800 would be acceptable if it carried sufficient representativeness.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• A participant suggested that the composition of the Election Committee should be coordinated with that of functional constituencies in the Legislative Council. The number of members in the four sectors could be re-allocated.
  
  

• A participant would like to have more sectors. Another participant suggested the abolition of the sectors. He proposed to have direct election of Election Committee members based on population, for example, 1:1 000. Another participant supported a 50/50 split of Election Committee membership between directly elected members (e.g. Legislative Council Members) and those returned by functional constituencies.
  
  

• A participant suggested the addition of representatives of non-government organizations and charity groups.
  
  

• Some participants hoped to see the addition of women and youth groups.
  
  

• A participant suggested the addition of District Council members.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• Some participants proposed to impose an upper limit on the required number of subscribers. They also proposed lowering the ratio between the required number of subscribers and the total number of Election Committee members (i.e. 1:8). This way, more people could run for the post.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• Participants agreed that the electorate should be enlarged. Individual voting should be increased while corporate voting should be reduced.
  
  

• A participant suggested that the number of voters should at least be 10% of the population, i.e. 700 000.
  
  

• A participant supported an expansion of the subsectors to reflect our economic re-structuring and to provide a gradual progress towards universal suffrage.

Others

• A participant pointed out that consideration should be given to Hong Kong's constitutional status when designing our political structure. The Chief Executive must be acceptable to the Central Authorities.
  
  

• A participant did not concur with the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Another participant opined that reopening the issue of universal suffrage in 2007/08 would not be consistent with the law, hence this should be considered carefully.
  
  

• A participant emphasized the importance of enhancing the sense of participation among Hong Kong people, and involving them more in the participating process.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• Some participants supported an increase in the number of seats in the Legislative Council to increase participation, groom political talents, and reduce the workload of Legislative Council Members.
  
  

• Specific suggestions put forth included: increasing the total number of seats to 80, 90, 100 and 120.

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• Participants agreed that the number of seats returned by functional constituencies should be determined first. The number of seats returned by direct election in geographical constituencies could then be increased correspondingly in accordance with the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress decision.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• A participant said that consideration should be given to the operation of the Government; functional constituency seats should not be abolished lightly.
  
  

• A participant opposed to an increase in the number of functional constituency seats, otherwise it would be difficult to remove them when universal suffrage was implemented. However, he agreed that the existing functional constituency seats could be reallocated.

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

• The majority of participants supported replacing corporate voting with individual voting. A participant, however, held a different view, and considered that corporate voting served its purpose. Whether corporate voting should be eliminated should be examined on a constituency by constituency basis.
  
  

• A participant proposed that each elector should have two votes (one for direct election and one for functional constituencies).
  
  

• A participant suggested that the number of voters in functional constituencies could be increased with reference to the actual situation in each constituency.
  
  

• A participant proposed to add the following functional constituencies: Chinese medicine, youth, and women.
  
  

• A participant would like to see an increase of a few votes for the Cantonese opera sector.
  
  

• A participant proposed re-organizing the smaller constituencies, e.g. integrating all constituencies relating to medical care, so as to release seats for new functional constituencies. Another participant suggested reviewing the number of voters in functional constituencies with a view to evening out the difference in electorate sizes among constituencies. Pursuant to this review, the increase in the number of seats for functional constituencies could be determined, and the number of directly elected seats could be increased correspondingly.

Provisions regarding Nationality of Legislative Council Members

• Many participants agreed that the current provision was already lenient. Even if the total number of seats in the Legislative Council were increased, the ratio should not be raised correspondingly. Furthermore, in view of the historical background and international position of Hong Kong, maintaining the current provision would be conducive to attracting talents.
  
  

• A participant proposed that, in view of the potential conflict of interests, the proportion of legislators with foreign nationality should be lowered in a gradual manner with the ultimate goal of abolishing the provision of altogether.
  
  

• A participant thought that sufficient justification must be provided before a constituency was allowed to have representative with foreign nationality.