Our present Legislative Council consists of two numerically equal halves, 30 directly elected and 30 functionally elected. Its method of voting on private bills and motions divides it into two chambers in function if not in name.
This distinction between the two halves reflects the concern of the National People's Congress Standing Committee that any amendment to the way Legco is elected must enable different sectors of society to be represented in the political structure, must ensure that consideration will continue to be given to the interests of different sectors of society, and must not bring about adverse effects on the economic, monetary-affairs and public-finance systems.
If we remove the functional constituencies, can we be certain that Legco will represent all sectors and that there will be no adverse effects on those systems? Might universal suffrage and a single chamber mean just that?
The second chamber responds to the doubts about leaving the management of our affairs to the deliberations of a single chamber and simple majority voting.
Two of the most eccentric examples of the two-chamber system have been mentioned to cast doubts on the value of having a second chamber. In Canada, all the Senate members are appointed by the Governor in Council, in effect the Executive Council, and in Britain the House of Lords is not only much larger than the House of Commons, it now has those members who replace hereditary peers appointed by the prime minister. Furthermore, the House of Lords has very limited power, the large majority enjoyed by the ruling party in the House of Commons means it enjoys what has been called 'the tyranny of the majority' and 'elected dictatorship'. We should avoid this. Serious political concerns cannot be left in Hong Kong to the unpredictable outcome of elections to a single chamber and one-chamber politics.
Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and India all have bicameral legislatures and so do more than 70 other countries around the world. It begs the question: why have they chosen this system.
