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Gary Cheung

Ng Kang-chung

Veteran pan-democrat Albert Ho Chun-yan appears unmoved by public disapproval for his idea to force a "referendum" on how Hong Kong should choose its next chief executive.

His stance could lead to his Democratic Party suffering a backlash for not heeding public opinion, analysts warned.
Yesterday, Ho told the South China Morning Post  he would go ahead with his plan to resign his "super lawmaker" seat to trigger a citywide vote, despite a Chinese University study finding that only one in seven Hongkongers supported the idea.
In the survey commissioned by the Post, more than half of 907 respondents disagreed with Ho's plan to quit his seat as a way to allow the public to express its views on political reform.
Under Ho's gambit, more than 3.2 million electors who did not have a vote in another functional constituency would get to vote in a by-election, and pan-democrats could position the campaign as a "de facto referendum" on universal suffrage.
However, the survey, conducted last week, found a lukewarm response even among self-identified supporters of the pan-democratic camp. Nearly one-third voiced their opposition while another 28 per cent supported the idea.
The remaining 40.7 per cent said they were neutral.
Among those surveyed who considered themselves politically neutral, 63.9 per cent said they opposed Ho's idea while 13 per cent expressed support.
"I am still inclined to resign … despite the survey results," Ho said. "I believe the public was still unclear or even confused about what I want to achieve through resignation, therefore I will continue the lobbying."
Earlier this month, Ho caught his political allies by surprise when he announced his plan to step down after pan-democratic lawmakers block the political reform proposals in the Legislative Council in the summer.
He described it as a way to boost the fight for genuine universal suffrage.
However, government officials and pro-establishment lawmakers said it would be a waste of public money, as well as a wasted effort in forcing Beijing to withdraw the stringent framework for reform it laid down in August.
A similar "de facto referendum" in 2010 saw a pan-democrat resign in each of the five geographical seats.
The subsequent polls saw low turnouts as pro-establishment parties declined to put up candidates. Under laws designed to prevent a repeat of that exercise, Ho will not be allowed to stand in the by-election.
Ho said he could not resign before lawmakers voted on the reform in the legislature, as his party would need a few months to make a final decision.
 
"Therefore I still have several months to explain the meaning of the de facto referendum to the public," he said.
Dr Victor Zheng Wan-tai, a research fellow at Chinese University's Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, which conducted the poll, was struck by the low support for Ho's idea among "pan-democratic" respondents.
"Given the number of those respondents [who considered themselves as pan-democratic supporters] disagreeing with the move outnumbers those who support it, the Democratic Party would face huge political risk if it went ahead with the resignation," Zheng said.
Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing said the party members would "definitely" need to consider public opinion when deciding on Ho's idea. But she declined to reveal her stance as the party leader.
District Council elections are due to be held in November and the next Legco election will be held in September next year.
Meanwhile, the survey also found that young, more educated people were inclined for Legco to block the government proposal on political reform as spelt out in Beijing's framework.
Only 22.1 per cent of respondents aged below 30 said the legislature should pass the reform, while 77.9 per cent from the same age group said the opposite.
However, in the age group of 50-year-olds or above, nearly 58 per cent said the reform should be approved, while around 42 per cent said otherwise.
Broken down by education level, nearly 60 per cent of respondents with tertiary education said Legco should block the political reform but fewer than 40 per cent said the same among those educated only to primary level.
More than half of respondents aged 50 or above were concerned that a debate on "Hong Kong independence" would make consensus on reform harder to achieve, while just 31.4 per cent under 30 agreed.
Professor Joseph Chan Man, a journalism and communication professor at Chinese University who has conducted polls on reform, said it was common for younger and better-educated people to push for bigger changes as they were more exposed to calls for greater democracy, compared to the older generation.
Professor Cheung Kwok-wah, a member of the Concern Group for Public Opinion on Constitutional Development, felt society had become more divided after the Occupy Central protests.
"Those who are pro-government get more pro-government and those who dislike the government become more discontented with the government," said Cheung, who is also dean of the Open University's school of education and languages.
 


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Focus

Albert Ho digs in on plan to force 'referendum' on HK elections

Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying delivers his recent policy address in the Legislative Council. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Albert Ho

Albert Ho said he could not resign before lawmakers voted on the reform in the legislature, as his party would need a few months to make a final decision. Photo: Felix Wong

Blank vote option for Hong Kong chief executive poll draws divided views

Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee. Photo: David Wong

News

Hong Kong

Lawmaker Albert Ho says he will press on with plan to quit Legco seat and force vote despite poll showing public opposition


Veteran pan-democrat Albert Ho Chun-yan appears unmoved by public disapproval for his idea to force a "referendum" on how Hong Kong should choose its next chief executive.


Albert Ho digs in on plan to force 'referendum' on HK elections

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lawmaker Albert Ho says he will press on with plan to quit Legco seat and force vote despite poll showing public opposition

Lawmaker Albert Ho says he will press on with plan to quit Legco seat and force vote despite poll showing public opposition