De facto referendum will have no legal effect, justice minister says

Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung, in his first public comments on the by-elections seen by pan-democrats as a de facto referendum on political reform, says political development must be initiated according to the Basic Law. The so-called referendum would have no legal effect, he said.

Wong, who had been criticised by both pro-establishment and pan-democratic camps for not taking a stand, said he had not spoken out before because he felt other ministers had already clearly stated the government's legal position and that he would merely repeat it.

'All along we have emphasised that constitutional development in Hong Kong must be done in compliance with the Basic Law as well as with the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress [in 2007 over what can be reformed in 2012] ... if anyone is to introduce a 'referendum' to affect the development of constitutional reform, this will not be in line with the NPCSC decision and the Basic Law,' Wong said.

Two Civic Party lawmakers and three lawmakers from the League of Social Democrats resigned from the Legislative Council in January, sparking by-elections to be held on May 16 for each of the five geographical constituencies.

By seeking election on a platform of demanding genuine universal suffrage through the abolition of functional constituencies, the two parties hope to use the by-elections as a de facto referendum as the government prepares a political reform proposal for the 2012 elections.

However, the central authorities called this step a 'blatant challenge' to their authority. Pro-establishment political groups plan to boycott the by-elections and have accused the movement of being akin to mobilising an uprising and calling for the independence of Hong Kong.

Yesterday, at a Legco finance committee meeting to discuss the Department of Justice's annual spending, lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing noted that the HK$150 million needed for the by-elections was more than a tenth of the department's annual budget.