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Tang open to 'one man, two votes' system

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Fears that functional constituencies are here to stay increased yesterday after Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen declared that a system of 'one man, two votes' would still be 'fair and equal' if everyone had the chance to vote for the trade-based seats.

The remarks by a leading contender for chief executive in 2012 was viewed as the latest proof that the government wants to transform rather than abolish the functional constituencies.

Tang, appearing on a radio phone-in programme, was responding to a question on why there was no commitment to abolishing functional constituencies in the constitutional reform proposal published on Wednesday for a three-month consultation.

'If it was one man, one vote, or one man, two votes, so long as everyone had two votes, that would still be a fair and equal principle,' Tang told a caller who had drawn him into a debate over whether complying with the principles of 'universal and equal suffrage' necessarily meant the abolition of those seats.

When another caller criticised the government proposal as violating the Basic Law because it failed to pave the way for functional constituencies to be abolished, Tang said: 'The Basic Law says we must abolish functional constituencies? Which article?' In any case, Tang said, this administration was not authorised to deal with electoral arrangements other than those for 2012.

But critics pointed out that as a frontrunner for the top post in 2012, Tang could be the person who will lead the debate on whether functional constituencies should stay. They also noted that Tang spent seven years as a legislator without ever being directly elected.

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