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Some time ago, the Business and Professionals Federation publicised a booklet proposing that the final solution for the composition of the Hong Kong legislature was to have two, popularly elected, chambers. The proposal met with various objections - that Hong Kong was too small, that it would be time-wasting, or that the Basic Law would need amending. The result of these emotional - and in some cases politically motivated - claims was that the government abandoned the idea of adopting a bicameral legislature.

The opponents of a bicameral legislature, however, did not reflect on the chances of successfully instituting a directly elected single chamber, or the consequences if they were to succeed.

Now, the whole debate about the Legislative Council's future turns on the issue of the functional constituencies: to be or not to be? Many bad things have been said about functional constituencies. One recent headline in a Hong Kong newspaper read: 'Engineers eye 2012 as the date for universal suffrage.' The story said that 60 per cent of respondents in a poll favoured the abolition of functional constituencies. However, on closer reading, it turned out that only 156 engineers had bothered to respond to the 3,701 questionnaires sent out. That result hardly seems to warrant such a headline.

The chief executive is promising so much engineering work these days. When these complex schemes are debated in Legco, it seems curious that those 156 don't think the presence of an engineer in the chamber might serve a useful purpose.

This example brings into focus the question of the functions of the functional constituency representatives. Similar examples could be drawn from the experience of doctors and other medical workers, lawyers, accountants and so forth. When it comes to debate that relates to their patch, they are there to speak up in Legco.

With these observations in mind, we cannot ignore the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - that the method of forming Legco should be 'beneficial' to the balanced participation of all sectors and groups. That was a decision by our government in Beijing, not just a piece of advice. The method has to be compatible with this city's social, economic and political development. Moreover, even a modest change to the method of elections needs the support of a two-thirds majority in Legco.

Hong Kong, with its 30-30 split of direct and functional constituency seats, actually has an embryonic bicameral system. The functional constituencies should not be abolished by stealth, or be so diluted by the presence of directly elected members as to render ineffective their role as a check to the exuberance and reforming zeal of that half of the legislature.

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