Seminars and Discussion Group

Regional Forum on Constitutional Development
(HK Island)
(21 July 2004)

Group Discussion Summaries
Group 7: Mr TSO Kai-lok

(Translation)

Method for Selecting the Chief Executive

The Number of Members of the Election Committee

• Participants were inclined to support an increase in the number of Election Committee members to enhance the level of participation and the Committee's legitimacy. However, no concrete figures were put forward.

The Composition of the Election Committee

• Participants proposed to include District Council members, especially those who were directly elected.

The Number of Members Required for Nominating Candidates

• The majority of participants would like to encourage more people to stand for election. Hence, they supported setting an upper limit. They also considered the lower limit of 100 appropriate.

The Delineation and Size of the Electorate of the Election Committee

• A participant supported direct election of the Election Committee by all residents in Hong Kong.
  
  

• A participant proposed adding two new sectors for students and women respectively.
  
  

• A participant proposed that the sectors should be allowed to discuss and decide the size of electorate in subsectors by themselves. Another participant proposed to make reference to the Electoral College system in the US.

Method for Forming the Legislative Council

The Number of Seats in the Legislative Council

• Many participants supported an increase in the number of seats in the Legislative Council.
  
  

• A participant, however, thought that the number of seats returned by functional constituencies would also increase if the number of seats in the Legislative Council were increased. This was inconsistent with the ultimate goal of universal suffrage. Therefore the number of seats in the Legislative Council should not be increased.

The Number of Seats Returned by Geographical Constituencies

• Many participants supported an increase in the number of seats returned by functional constituencies. As such, the number of seats returned by geographical constituencies should also be increased in accordance with the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The Number of Seats Returned by Functional Constituencies

• Many participants supported an increase in the number of seats returned by functional constituencies. The number of seats returned by geographical constituencies should also be increased in accordance with the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

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

• Some participants opined that the delineation and size of the electorate of functional constituencies should be enlarged. They also suggested splitting sports, performing arts, and culture and publication into three independent categories.
  
  

• A participant pointed to the fact that if the delineation was too fine, the constituencies would be inclined to fight for their own interests rather than representing overall interests in a macroscopic perspective.

Provisions regarding Nationality of Legislative Council Members

• Participants agreed that the provision of "not exceeding 20%" was reasonable. It was a reflection of Hong Kong's characteristic as a cosmopolitan city. A participant thought that when the element of universal suffrage gradually gained dominance in the system, Legislative Council candidates who were not Chinese nationals would naturally lose their edge.