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CHAPTER FIVE: Channels for Communication and Political Participation
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C H A P T E R F I V E CHANNELS FO R COMMUNICATIO N AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATIO N The Legislativ e Counci l ha s bee n th e mos t importan t channe l o f communication betwee n the government and the people in Hong Kong. It is also th e parliamentar y bod y fo r publi c participatio n i n politics . Th e evolution o f the Legislativ e Council an d the various attempts to reform i t have already been documented i n considerable detail in Chapter II. In this chapter, onl y th e basi s fo r th e selectio n o f unofficia l member s t o th e Legislative Counci l wil l b e dealt with , a s this will hel p t o illustrat e th e development o f th e government' s attitud e towards i t as a representativ e body an d a s an aren a fo r politica l participation . Afte r dealin g wit h th e Legislative Council, the selection of documents will focus on the traditional and othe r forma l channel s for communicatio n betwee n th e governmen t and th e people . Thi s will b e followe d b y selection s documentin g th e emergence o f modern politica l partie s and particularl y what they aim t o achieve. a. Basi s for Appointments t o the Legislative Counci l When the Legislative Council was first formed unde r Governor Sir Henry Pottinger, membership was a matter of selecting from the handful of officials most valuable to him in his immediate tasks in founding the colony. It was not unti l Si r John Davi s becam e Governo r i n 184 4 tha t th e criteri a fo r selecting members of the council cam e to be treated as a policy issue. As document V.a 1 shows , Davi s considered th e option o f nominatin g non official member s to the Legislative Council. However, h e concluded tha t there was no suitable candidate since all the non-official Britis h residents of Hong Kong who would me t the usua l requirement s to sit in a legislativ e chamber in a British territory at that time were involved in the opium trade and would, on that account, disqualify themselves. 196 GovernmentandPolitics DOCUMENT V.al : Governo r Davi s to Secretary Lord Stanley, dispatch 4 , 1 3 May 1844 (extracts ) (source : C0129/6 ) I hav e n o hesitatio n i n expressin g t o you r Lordshi p m y fir m convictio n that , constituted a s the society of this place is, none but official person s should be eligible to the station s abov e mentione d [i.e . membershi p o f th e Legislativ e Council] . Almos t every person possessed of capital, who is not connected with government employmen t is employed in the opium trade, and I need not observe that such an occupation woul d be unsuitable i n this place to a seat a t the Counci l Board . ThisconcernofGovernorDavi swas,however,notsharedbyhissuccessor , SirGeorg eBonham .I ndocumen tll.al ,th efirs tHon gKon gdispatc ht o recommendth eappointmento funofficials ,Bonha msumbitte dth ename s oftw oloca lnotable sknow nt ob einvolve di ntheopiu mtrade .Asi tha s alsobee nexplaine di nChapterTwo ,Bonham' srecommendatio ncam ei n responsetoapetitionbytheBritishcommunityofHongKong.Hedidsoon theground stha tthe ywoul dprovid ea usefulchanne lo fcommunicatio n betweenthegovernmentandthepeople.Whenh ereceivedapprovalfro m LondonandhadtonominatetwounofficialstobeappointedtotheLegislative Councilforthefirsttime,hehaddifficultiesi nmakinghisownchoices .H e thereforeinvite dth eUnofficia lJustice softh ePeac etonam etw oo fthei r members.HisconsiderationsaresetoutindocumentV.a2below.Althoug h Bonham...