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Colleen Lee

Former government No 2 Anson Chan Fang On-sang had some pointed words about the current incumbent, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, saying Lam appeared upset at the way the government's political reform package had been rolled out but was stuck "between a rock and a hard place".

The Alliance for True Democracy will push for the chief executive poll nominating committee to be elected by all Hong Kong voters in 2017, sources say.

The legislature approved a controversial HK$100 million government donation to official Sichuan earthquake relief efforts yesterday, despite earlier worries over a possible filibuster.

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The scandal surrounding former head graft-buster Timothy Tong Hin-ming should be investigated by the police, not the Independent Commission Against Corruption, to ensure impartiality, a former prosecutions chief says.

Support from an eighth of nominating committee members could be a possible threshold for aspirants to enter the chief executive election under universal suffrage, Elsie Leung Oi-sie says.

Apparently targeting former commissioner Timothy Tong Hin-ming for the first time, Lam said that while the Independent Commission Against Corruption was independent of the government, its officers were bound by the rules on civil servants, which included the giving of gifts.

Some 500 supporters of the Occupy Central plan that demands genuine universal suffrage will rally on June 9 to discuss possible problems the movement may face, its founder said yesterday.

Former anti-graft chief Timothy Tong Hin-ming faces investigation by his former subordinates as new evidence suggests he used public money to treat officials from Beijing's liaison office.

Two suspected pranks in the lifts of the legislature building yesterday almost added to a delay in budget debates, which are just starting to be dragged out by radical lawmakers' filibustering.

A filibustering bid on the budget bill by radical lawmakers could be halted by the middle of next month, with Legislative Council chief Jasper Tsang Yok-sing warning that he will act to ensure the legislature runs smoothly.

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was disappointment yesterday after lawmakers failed to vote on a proposal to donate HK$100 million to the Sichuan earthquake relief effort amid concerns the funds may be misused.

A fierce debate is expected in the Legislative Council today over the use of a HK$100 million donation to help Sichuan earthquake victims, with radical pan-democrats threatening to block approval with a filibuster.

More than 50 disabled people could find themselves without a home or adapting to life in a new hostel by mid-year as tough new care home regulations take hold. And about one third of the city's 78 private care homes for the disabled could face closure in a year's time under new licensing rules, operators warned.

The former lawmaker and urban councillor, who turns 100 on June 2, became emotional when expressing sympathy for striking dock workers and anger with a billionaire, whom she declined to name.

Working out regularly from a young age is the secret of longevity for former urban councillor Elsie Tu, who is allowed to take it rather more easily now as she approaches her 100th birthday.

An official US report on human rights in Hong Kong has drawn attention to local concerns over freedom of assembly and claims that police are turning to aggressive, abusive tactics.

The 26-year-old vice-chairman of the Civic Party's Kowloon East branch was found hanged in Tai Po yesterday, five days after he went missing.

A prominent academic, Horace Chin Wan-kan, has cautioned next year's Occupy Central plan lacks the "power to frighten" Beijing in talks over universal suffrage. Dr Chin, an assistant professor of Chinese language at Lingnan University and a backer of the Hong Kong City-State Autonomy Movement, said the "non-violent" road blockade was the wrong approach to take.

Former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang has weighed in on the universal suffrage issue, taking a conciliatory and pragmatic tone in the heated debate. It was not unreasonable for Beijing to expect Hong Kong's chief executive not to challenge China's one-party rule, she said at a Community College of City University seminar yesterday.

Executive councillor Bernard Chan has urged the government to reveal how much a universal pension scheme would cost taxpayers, a move he says is needed to assist public debate.