Play ball or get nowhere, Tsang tells lawmakers
Electoral proposals not in line with the nine factors outlined by the government would have a slim chance of approval, Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said yesterday.
Speaking a day after two reports were submitted to Beijing - one by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and a second by the government's taskforce on constitutional reform - Mr Tsang told lawmakers the factors were not 'pre-conditions' to change the electoral methods for the chief executive and Legco in 2007 and 2008.
'I am not saying these are the things you have to accept. They are the factors we have to take into consideration. The further away we drift from these factors, the more difficult it will be to reach a consensus,' he told the Legco constitutional affairs panel.
The nine factors Hong Kong 'should have regard to' included the need to pay heed to the views of the central authorities.
The chief secretary displayed impatience when lawmakers accused him of rushing the report without first consulting the public.
'When we said we should discuss the principles [in February], you said we should move on,' he said. 'And when we swiftly respond to people's wishes and come up with the report, you criticise us for moving too fast.'
Mr Tsang refused to commit himself on a timetable for the way forward but promised to roll out proposals for consultation as soon as possible after the National People's Congress Standing Committee approved any need for change.
He said the Legco elections in September had no influence on the government's plans, despite concerns that Beijing wanted to settle the issue as soon as possible so that Democrats would not be able to use reform as an election issue
Democratic Party legislator Martin Lee Chu-ming questioned whether Mr Tung finished his report long before the taskforce concluded its consultation. Fellow Democrat Cheung Man-kwong said factors such as the maturity of political parties were not stipulated in the Basic Law.
'You are adding things not in the Basic Law. It's like another interpretation. It's immoral,' he said.
Cyd Ho Sau-lan, of The Frontier, said the factors were newly created and there should be a referendum to gauge public endorsement.
Ma Fung-kwok, of the Beijing-friendly New Century Forum, said changes to electoral methods could not resolve problems such as a lack of political talent.
Mr Tsang said he did not see the need for further consultation on the nine factors.
'We cannot go back and forth and keep doing consultations whenever there are some different views. Such procedures are unreasonable,' he said.
