The suggestion to abolish the partial appointment of Hong Kong's district councillors by the Chief Executive was rejected by most of the politicians that attended an open forum yesterday.

Their views were heard Sunday at the weekly City Forum held in Victoria Park, ahead of a fuller discussion of the issue at the Legislative Council on Wednesday when a motion debate will be mooted.

Three of the four politicians who spoke at the forum said they preferred that the practice of appointing seats be retained.

Chairman of the Liberal Party James Tien said the traditional system, whereby a percentage of district councillors are appointed by the Chief Executive, keeps a channel open for less well-known citizens whose invaluable expertise is much sought after by the community to take part in district affairs.

He cited his own experience of being appointed in the Kwai Ching District, where he owned a factory, when he decided to take the plunge and participate in district affairs. He said his maiden appointment turned out to be a primer that opened up a career as a politician in the ensuing days.

"I didn't know any of the Kwai Ching residents. If I had stood in the election, there would have been no reason for them to vote for me. But Kwai Ching also functioned as an industrial area much of the time. If there had been no appointed politicians representing Kwai Ching's business circle on issues like transport, (who will help solve problems like) who should use the bridge or where goods should be loaded and unloaded? So I find the appointment system really useful," said Tien.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong Legislative Councillor Ip Kwok-him concurred. He stressed that the appointment system should definitely be retained.

But he also proposed that the number of appointed seats be gradually reduced in future.

Peter Wong, a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress, the top organ of State power, shared his unique view at the forum by saying that people who have not voted in an election are a "silent majority" who can be represented by the appointed councillors.

In light of the mere 44 per cent turnout in the recent election, more than half of the voters' interests were unaccounted for, he reasoned, adding, "The candidates may not have been their cup of tea.

"More than 50 per cent of the voters have not shown their proclivities. So the government should keep the appointment system to appoint those who have the capability from a professional point of view but do not want to run in an election.

"The 'silent majority' can thus be professionally represented," he stressed.

The Hong Kong Government said it is planning to seek legal advice to determine whether the Chief Executive should appoint fewer than 102 district councillors, as recommended by certain political parties. The 102 seats are the maximum quota the Chief Executive is entitled to appoint across Hong Kong's 18 district councils.

(China Daily HK Edition December 1, 2003)