Seminars and Discussion Group

Regional Forum on Constitutional Development
(Hong Kong Island)
(21 July 2004)

Group Discussion Summaries
Group 5: Mr Chung Pui-lam

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• The majority of participants considered that the number of Election Committee members should be increased. A participant opined that it should be increased to 1 200, which means an increase of 100 for each sector. Another participant proposed to expand it to 3 000.
  
  

• Participants generally supported that more people should be allowed to participate, and the principle of balanced participation should be followed.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• Some participants proposed to include a subsector for members of Area Committees.
  
  

• Some participants proposed to add subsectors to cover, for example, Mainland enterprises, nurses, women, and Area Committees. In addition, the proportion of District Council members in the Election Committee should be increased.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• A participant suggested that candidates should be nominated by Legislative Council Members, so as to enhance legitimacy and strengthen the relationship between the executive and the legislature.
  
  

• A participant proposed to lower the number of subscribers required for nomination to 30 to 50.
  
  

• A participant proposed to maintain the status quo. If the Election Committee were expanded, the number of candidates for the post of Chief Executive could be increased even if the number of subscribers required remained unchanged.
  
  

• Another participant, however, opined that consideration could be given to increasing the number of subscribers to 150 if the Election Committee were expanded.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• A participant opined that Election Committee members should be elected by all eligible voters based on population distribution.

Others

• A participant suggested that the timing for implementing universal suffrage for the Chief Executive should synchronize with that for the Legislative Council. Otherwise there would be a constitutional crisis.
  
  

• A participant opined that each Election Committee member should make known his preference regarding the Chief Executive candidates in order to be accountable to their constituents.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• A participant suggested that in determining the number of seats, reference be made to the experience of other countries where seats were allocated in accordance with population. However, another participant remarked that functional constituencies could not be delineated by population distribution.

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• A participant proposed to add one seat to each of the five existing geographical constituencies.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• A participant opined that functional constituencies had their own vested interests. Therefore the number of seats should not be increased.
  
  

• A participant was of the view that a substantial number of people were involved in the wholesale and retail industry, hence they should be represented by more seats.

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

• A participant opined that the relative importance of different industries changed with changes in the economic structure. For example, the workforce of the logistics industry had increased, hence more seats were required or an independent functional constituency be formed to represent this sector.
  
  

• A participant opined that individual votes instead of corporate votes should be increased.
  
  

• A participant suggested to include community groups, natives associations and clansmen associations in the functional constituencies.

Provisions regarding Nationality of Legislative Council Members

• Some participants opined that after reunification, the ratio of Legislative Council Members with foreign nationality should be reduced in a gradual manner. The ultimate goal would be that all Legislative Council Members were Chinese nationals.