The initial decision taken this weekend by the Preparatory Committee on the election procedures and eligibility for the Selection Committee gives a little definition to what has been an extremely hazy outline. It has not yet produced a clear picture. So while yesterday's vote is a welcome first step, it leaves open the degree to which the Selection Committee will be as representative or independent as the people of Hong Kong are entitled to expect.
The decision announced yesterday made clear that candidates must be prepared to carry out the duties for which they have been selected. That sounds obvious, but is not completely straightforward. Some religious groups have suggested that they should be ready to serve on the Selection Committee to pick the first Chief Executive as provided for by the National People's Congress decision promulgated at the same time as the Basic Law - but not to take part in the selection of the provisional legislature, which they regard as illegal. Their position now seems untenable.
What the Preparatory Committee has not done, at this stage, is to state whether members of the Selection Committee must actually favour the establishment of the provisional legislature or, at least, not be opposed to it. This may be an example of useful ambiguity. Preparatory Committee member Frederick Fung Kin-kee, for example, has made his opposition to the provisional legislature clear. He has gone further: his was the lone vote against its establishment on the Preparatory Committee earlier this year. In response, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office director, Lu Ping, said Mr Fung should not be allowed on the Selection Committee.
But, on Friday, Mr Fung arrived in Zhuhai for the weekend's plenary session carrying 6,000 letters objecting to China's plan to dissolve the three tiers of elected government on July 1 next year and to establish the provisional body. He handed these to the director of Xinhua (the New China News Agency), Zhou Nan. But now that the establishment of the provisional legislature is in no doubt, will Mr Fung be allowed to decide for himself whether he wishes to boycott the Selection Committee or join it? Could the procedure allow even a member of the Democratic Party to participate? Mr Fung and others may calculate that it is better to be an insider with influence who gets a seat than to stand aside and let others select people of whom they disapprove. As one of two geographical constituency members of the present legislature who sits on the Preparatory Committee, Mr Fung might well see participation in body as fulfilling an obligation to his constituents, without having to declare support or loyalty for the new body in advance - or even to pronounce himself ready to serve on such a legislature.
Another, slightly different, example is Liu Yiu-chu, who has publicly branded the provisional legislature illegal, yet has the right as a National People's Congress member to sit on the Selection Committee if she wishes. Such decisions should be a matter of conscience, not for arbitrary determination by the Preparatory Committee. It would be ironic if Miss Liu, whose rights are not in doubt, refused to take part as a matter of principle, while Mr Fung, who abstained in yesterday's vote, found himself excluded by the detailed rules for forming the committee.
Without knowing how many candidates are envisaged for the 400 seats on the Selection Committee, it is difficult to get an idea of how open the process can be. If objectors do have the choice of standing, they will have to weigh their participation carefully. The United Front argument that it is better to be on the inside may be seductive, but they have to consider what happens if they are selected to sit on the provisional body which then starts meeting regularly in Zhuhai or Shenzhen. Where does the line lie? For the great majority of the Preparatory Committee and for many in positions of prominence in Hong Kong, the basic decision over the approach to 1997 has been made: it is to be hoped that they will do all they can to influence decisions and policies to Hong Kong's advantage in the next 13 months. Others will cast themselves in an unyielding opposition role.
