1988 Hong Kong electoral reform

The 1988 Hong Kong electoral reform was carried out by the colonial government during 1987 to 1988 as the second stage of the developments of the representative government. Direct elections to the Legislative Council became the most debated issue during the public consultations. Under the strong opposition from the Government of the People's Republic of China, the Hong Kong government consequently turned down the option of the 1988 direct elections and introduced a little change in the government system.

The reform consultations followed the 1985 electoral reform which introduced the first ever indirect elections to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in the 1985 Legislative Council Election. In the White Paper: the Further Development of Representative Government in Hong Kong, the idea of direct election was suggested to be reviewed in the development of representative government in 1987.

In May 1987, the government published the 1987 Green Paper: Review of Developments in Representative Government to consider the next stage of development of representative government, which could take account into the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in December 1984 which the United Kingdom and People's Republic of China governments agreed upon the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC in 1997.

The 1987 Green Paper: Review of Developments in Representative Government provided a general review on the development of the government system at district, regional and central levels, assessment of the developments since the publication of the 1984 White Paper and the public response to them, and consideration of the options for further development in 1988.

It included the composition, functions and elections of the District Boards, and the municipal councils (Urban Council and Regional Council) and Legislative Council, and whether the Governor should continue to be the President of the Legislative Council.

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