The Election Committee of 800, which has just elected the chief executive, is derisively referred to as a 'small circle'. I wonder how many people have bothered to find out how many organisations are represented in this small circle? When they know, I hope they will support the use of this 'small' circle to form a large nomination committee - which will select candidates for the popular election of the chief executive.
The Election Committee consists of four sectors of 200 members each. In the first sector, the economy is represented by all industrial, commercial and financial organisations - chambers of commerce, the Federation of Industry and so forth. The second sector, the professions, is represented by thousands of lawyers, doctors, accountants, educators and others.
The third sector consists of labour unions, community organisations and churches of various denominations, with their hundreds of thousands of worshippers. Political interests in the fourth sector are represented by Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, representatives of the members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and members of the Legislative Council.
The 200 members in each sector are themselves returned by their member organisations. So, for example, each of the 400-odd labour unions take part, as do all registered arts and culture associations. Other bodies include the Hong Kong Flower Dealers and Workers Association, the Stamp and Coins Dealers Association, the Guild of Graziers, the History Society, registered non-profit organisations for social and voluntary services, taxi drivers, container truck drivers, and even all the food business license holders!
If any organisation feels it has been left out of this sweep of Hong Kong society, it can apply to be included before 2012.
The number of registered individuals and corporations represented was 215,000 last year. They in turn have their mass following. Some representatives are elected by the committee or inner circle, and not by the membership at large. Others are elected by the whole membership of various professions - accountants, lawyers and so forth. There are also constituencies such as transport and social welfare, in which a mixture of individuals, companies and organisations vote. Corporate voting for businesses has come in for particular criticism. All these aberrations and anomalies can be straightened out before the next election in 2012.
When the Basic Law was written, it was in the minds of the drafters that, by dividing the community into these four groups - and then by trying to sweep in all the organisations that had a stake in our tangled society - it would be as representative of Hong Kong as it was possible to get.
