Advertisement

C.Y. faces first unity test as kuk calls for amnesty

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

Leung Chun-ying faces the first test of his ability to unify the city. Rural kingpin Lau Wong-fat has called for an amnesty on illegal structures in the New Territories in order to achieve reconciliation.

That creates a dilemma for the chief executive-elect, given that he was much tougher on illegal structures during the election campaign than loser Henry Tang Ying-yen.

Heung Yee Kuk chairman Lau urged the incoming administration to accept all additions to village houses so that Leung could achieve the reconciliation he has been calling for. Lau was speaking for the first time since the Development Bureau began a crackdown on illegal structures in the New Territories on April 1.

'The government should tolerate illegal structures that don't pose an immediate danger. An amnesty would be a good way to create unity and reconciliation,' Lau said. 'If the New Territories sees the first blood, I won't congratulate him [Leung]. We want a soft landing [approach to solving the illegal-structures problem].'

Flanked by Lew Mon-hung, a high-profile supporter of Leung who also advocated an amnesty, Lau said villagers wanted 'a balance between sentiment, reasoning and law'.

'[The order] cannot be law, reasoning and sentiment ... we won't be able to argue our case on legal grounds.'

Advertisement