Reconciliation is key for 2017, says Legco chief

The key to settling long-standing differences between pro-government and pan-democratic camps hinges on how the central leadership perceives the pan-democrats, Tsang Yok-sing says.

The Legislative Council president is an advocate of what he calls the 'great reconciliation' - resolving chronic ideological conflicts between the two sides.

'Reconciling the pro-establishment and pan-democratic camps is necessary as universal suffrage looms in 2017,' said Tsang, a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference attending the plenary session in Beijing. 'Can Beijing accept a pan-democrat to become chief executive? It depends on whether the pro-government camp stereotypes the pan-democrats as traitors, and vice versa.'

The 'great reconciliation' was one of Tsang's ideals as he mulled running for chief executive last month. If he ever assumed the city's top office, he said, he would recruit capable pan-democrats into his cabinet, as a step towards reconciliation.

The founding chairman of the former Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong admitted he 'had been preparing' for the race, as smear campaigns clouded election front runners Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung Chun-ying. Tsang declined to say if he would cast a blank vote on March 25, the day when a 1,193-strong Election Committee will choose the city's next leader.

Although Tsang is not running for chief executive, he has not stopped thinking about questions raised by the possibility of a 'great reconciliation', saying the answers could help resolve differences as lawmakers sought election to Legco in September. But he lamented that the media sometimes overreacted, scuppering any dialogue between the pan-democrats and the central government.