Legco gridlock will only hurt the people, says subcommittee chairman

Projects beneficial to Hongkongers will become the casualties of the corroding relationship between the legislature and the executive branch, says the chairman of the Legislative Council public works subcommittee.

Alan Leong Kah-kit was elected last month to head the Legco body that oversees spending on public works. The body vets government funding requests for projects before the Finance Committee's approval is sought.

Leong, also Civic Party leader, is the first pan-democrat to head the body since the handover. His pan-democrat colleagues have vowed to hinder approval for projects they deem controversial, as part of their non-cooperation campaign in protest against Beijing's restrictive 2017 chief executive election framework.

They have said they will approve projects that directly affect people's livelihood. But the government has delayed 13 such public works projects in an effort to combat the campaign.

"We [pan-democrats] will try our utmost to benefit the recipients of public works projects by passing whatever items can be passed," Leong said. "But you can see how brutal the administration is in making sure we will not have our way."

The government's surprise move last Wednesday affected two special schools, a community hall and a childcare centre, among others. And it came as Leong was about to rule that the subcommittee would depart from a long-standing convention of following the government's agenda, and deal with the non-controversial items first instead.

"We are not in a normal time," Leong said, explaining his decision to depart from the norm.