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The following is the speech by the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Michael Suen, on the "Motion of Thanks" at the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

President,

Many Members mentioned the issue of political development in the motion of thanks debate on the Policy Address. Some Members suggested that the pace of development towards greater democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) should be reviewed as soon as possible, while others advocated a faster pace of democratic development of Hong Kong. There were also some other Members who made suggestions about the reorganisation of municipal services. I will respond to these issues in a while.

Developing a Democratic Political System according to the Basic Law

The blueprint for democratic development as provided by the Basic Law lays down clear rules for elections to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in its first three terms and allows steady progress to be made in that regard. In May last year, the first LegCo election of the HKSAR (SAR) was held successfully. This Council passed the Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 in July this year. The Administration is actively making preparations for the second LegCo election to be held next year in accordance with the Ordinance. The third LegCo election scheduled for 2004 will be the only election to be considered before 2007.

Reviewing the Development of Hong Kong's Political System

The Chief Executive has made it clear in his Policy Address this year that he hopes that by 2007, a mature view will have emerged in the community on the development of the political structure which will help us to decide on the strategy and the steps needed for its further development. This should not be interpreted as indicating that discussions on the topic shall not start until 2007. Since the issues that need to be considered are relatively complicated and controversial in nature, preparations must commence well in advance. Some Members opined that such "mature view" would not come knocking on the door. This is an idea with which I totally concur. The crux of the matter lies in the way in which such "mature view" may be generated.

One of the key tasks proposed on page 18 of the 1999 Policy Objective booklet of the Constitutional Affairs Bureau marks the first step in our efforts to generate such "mature view". In the coming year, we will study the various systems of government currently adopted in other parts of the world and analyze in depth their merits and demerits as reference for our own benefit, with a view to developing a system which best suits Hong Kong with its unique circumstances and best takes care of its long-term interests. When the second LegCo election scheduled for next year is over, we will give due consideration to the specific procedures and steps to be followed in conducting the review and the ways in which the community as a whole may participate to gradually form a mature view on the issue of political system. We will propose a variety of feasible options for reform and conduct extensive consultations in due course to encourage the whole community to turn the relevant issues over and debate them in a rational manner, thus allowing "mature view" to take shape through such a process of fermentation.

Looking at the matter in terms of time, the Administration will not delay the process. However, for reasons already explained just now, I must state clearly that I do not see at all the possibility for us to complete such a process and at the same time allow ample time to alter the relevant arrangements for the third LegCo election in 2004 which are already provided under the Basic Law. Our goal is, therefore, to enable the HKSAR to carry out, in 2007, the necessary work for the formation of future LegCos according to the method for the formation of LegCo and its voting procedures subsequent to the year 2007 specified in paragraph III of Annex II of the Basic Law. It is our wish that we would obtain support from all quarters in the next few years so that we can work together towards achieving this goal. Such is also our response to Members' criticism of the Administration for adhering to the pace of democratic development set by the Basic Law as the basis for conducting review and being impervious to the public's requests for accelerating the pace of democratization and advancing the review.

It is not particularly meaningful to debate whether there are aspirations for democracy in society of Hong Kong, because the answer will be positive. Article 68 of the Basic Law has already provided that the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage. There is not much fundamental difference in the views of the public, Members and the government. However, as regards the acceleration of the pace of democracy, the situation is very different. I cannot agree with the view of individual commentators that various sectors of Hong Kong have already reached a consensus on the acceleration in democratic development. I do not deny that some LegCo members and members of the public have clear-cut stance, and they from time to time call on people with strong and powerful voices to support their demands in this regard. Yet at present, I can in no way see that the general public agree with this view.

On 15 July last year, the Honourable Andrew Cheng moved a debate on direct elections. In the past few days, I particularly reviewed the press reports on the day following the debate and found that the coverage was not notable. Only one editorial mentioned this topic. I also noticed that the motion debate had not aroused in the electronic media interest from the public. Only a very small number of callers talked about this issue in the radio phone-in programme on the day following the debate.

On the other hand, at the end of September this year, the Social Sciences Research Centre of the University of Hong Kong published the results of an opinion poll. About 30% of the respondents expressed their hope that the policy address should address the issue of economic development, while about 20% of the respondents expressed that the labour and employment issues had to be addressed. Only less than 1% of the respondents selected political development as the most important issue from among the issues that are of concern to the public.

There are many such illustrative examples showing that, all along, political development has not been an issue of paramount public concern. If society had strong aspirations for faster democratization, the public would by now easily notice such a phenomenon. Therefore, we do not think that the review of the political system based on the blueprint mapped out by the Basic Law is a departure from the will as well as the feelings of the public.

When political development is discussed, the public and even this Council will tend to focus on direct elections only. We, nevertheless, have to reiterate that political development should not be just a matter of implementation of direct elections or merely emphasize the number of directly-elected seats. We must not forget other issues which are equally important.

In accordance with the spirit of the Basic Law, we need to establish an executive-led political structure. The future political development of Hong Kong cannot depart from the executive-led principle, which has been practised effectively for many years. Furthermore, we have to ensure that the relevant political arrangements are able to maintain effective administration of the HKSARG and strengthen the cooperation between the executive authorities and the legislature. We should also consider whether the relevant proposals can meet the expectations of the public and maintain the confidence of investors. Besides, other important issues such as the relationship between the Chief Executive and the LegCo, the appointment system for the Government's principal officials and party politics, etc. have to be studied in depth and considered carefully before proposals on the relevant arrangements are made.

Political Party Legislation under Consideration

Political parties or groups will continue to play an important role in the future political development of Hong Kong. In order to facilitate further development of the political system of Hong Kong, we intend to examine, after the LegCo election in 2000, the feasibility and desirability of a political party law in the light of the existing electoral systems and political situation. The issues to be taken into account include whether legislation is needed to establish a registration mechanism for political parties and to allow political parties to register their names and emblems. Besides, we will study the question of strengthening the regulation of political parties' acceptance of donations and consider enhancing the transparency of the source of funding for political parties.

Reorganisation of Municipal Services

As regards the reorganisation of municipal services, the Bills Committee of the Legislative Council has almost completed its scrutiny of the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganisation) Bill and is about to hold discussions on committee stage amendments. Yesterday, we briefed Members in detail the new structure devised for the delivery of municipal services. The relevant proposals on the establishment of and funding for the new structure will be submitted to the Establishment Sub-committee and the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in December.

I sincerely hope that Members of this Council will complete the scrutiny as well as the enactment of the Bill as soon as possible. It is also hoped that Members will support the establishment and funding proposals put forward by the SAR Government for the new administrative structure so that the preparatory work for the new structure can be completed by the end of this year. As we enter the new millennium, we will be able to deliver to the public municipal services of higher quality and with greater cost-effectiveness.

Thank you President.

END/Wednesday, October 27, 1999

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