HK Government Proposes to Expand Legislature

Alexandra Harney
October 19, 2005

On October 19, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's puppet regime proposed to expand the legislature and the committee that chooses the puppet chief executive in an attempt to make Hong Kong's political system more democratic, but drew immediate fire from Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

Left: At a press conference, 24 democratic lawmakers condemned the proposals and called on Hong Kongers to take to the streets on December 4 to protest against the HKSAR puppet regime.¡]Epoch¡^
Right: Chief Secretary Rafael Hui admitted it would be hard for the legislature to endorse the proposals.¡]Getty Images¡^

After 19 months of deliberation, a government taskforce recommended enlarging the legislative council from 60 to 70 members in 2007 and doubling the size of the committee that elects the next chief executive in 2008 to 1,600 people.

The territory's democracy movement, which had been pressing for fully direct elections in 2007 and 2008, voiced its opposition to the plan. At least 24 of 25 pro-democracy legislators are expected to vote against the reforms, according to democratic lawmakers.

¡§We don't see this as being on the road to universal suffrage,¡¨said Audrey Eu, a prominent pro-democracy legislator.

If the democratic movement remains unswayed, Donald Tsang, the puppet chief executive, could see his proposals defeated. He needs the support of two-thirds of the Legislative Council, or LegCo, and the Beijing regime's approval to pass the reforms during his two-year term.

Mr Tsang on Wednesday called the plan¡§a significant step forward in our democratic development¡¨and stressed that it represented progress towards universal suffrage, which Hong Kong's mini-constitution sets out as a goal for the territory.

The proposals give new power to Hong Kong's 529-member District Council, whose responsibilities until recently were limited to minor local public services.

Five of the new LegCo seats would be chosen by the city's District Council members, about 80 per cent of whom are directly elected.

The remainder of the new seats would be directly elected. Currently, half of LegCo members are directly elected; the other half are chosen by groups known as functional constituencies, which represent various professional and community sectors.

In its April 2004 ruling, the Beijing regime specified that any expansion of LegCo had to include an equal increase in both directly elected and functional constituency seats.

All district council members, including those appointed by the government, would also sit on the committee that elects the chief executive. Currently, only 42 district council members are allowed on to this committee, which has traditionally been loyal to the Beijing regime.

The democratic movement objects to the HKSAR puppet regime's recommendation to appoint non-elected District Council members to the election committee, its insistence on expanding the functional constituencies and its failure to provide a timetable for future electoral reforms, Ms Eu said.

Lee Cheuk-yan, another democratic lawmaker, said he would organise street protests to demonstrate his opposition to the proposals.

Anthony Cheung, professor at City University of Hong Kong and a newly appointed member of Mr Tsang's cabinet, said while the public had supported universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008, the Beijing regime's ruling had eliminated this as an option.

¡§Whether the government's package is regarded as second best ... that will be tested by [the] public reaction,¡¨he said.