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Leung Chun-ying (CY Leung)
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Leung Chun-ying has not ruled out the possibility of standing for re-election in 2017. Photo: Nora Tam

CY Leung urges Hongkongers to vote pan-democrats out of Legco

Chief executive says Occupy movement burned itself out after election loss fears

Hong Kong electors should "vote out" the pan-democrats in upcoming elections if they are unhappy with the camp's filibustering in the legislature and last year's Occupy Central campaign, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying urged yesterday.

Delivering a speech at an investment forum on the third anniversary of his election victory, Leung also said that Beijing showed its trust in the Hong Kong government during the 79-day civil disobedience movement, which ended peacefully in December.

"Throughout the Occupy movement, the handling of the incident was left entirely to the Hong Kong police," Leung said.

"The Hong Kong garrison of the People's Liberation Army was never called out from their barracks. This was a reassuring sign, on the part of the central government, of the faith and confidence in the Hong Kong government and its police force.

"Will Occupy resurrect itself? The Hong Kong government has always maintained its preparedness. But I can say to the public, if Occupy happens again, it will not be sympathetic," he said.

Leung added that the rule of law and public opinion were the keys to ending Occupy last year.

"The government showed restraint, the public began to lose patience [by the end of] the Occupy movement.

"There were serious prospects of the democrats, who were behind or supporting the Occupy movement, being punished at the elections later this year and next year. So the movement in the end burned itself out," he said.

In a question-and-answer session that followed, Leung was asked to elaborate on how the government would handle the pan-democrat lawmakers' "non-cooperation movement" in protest against Beijing's stringent framework for the 2017 chief executive poll.

He said: "For those who are registered voters, vote them out next year … The Legco election will take place sometime in the third quarter next year, go to the polling station, vote them out."

On March 25, 2012, Leung was elected chief executive after winning 689 votes from a 1,193-strong election committee, defeating former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen and pan-democratic candidate Albert Ho Chun-yan.

Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing said she was "furious" about Leung's remarks.

"What qualification does Leung have to throw me out?" she said. "We respect our citizens, whether they support or object to Occupy … and we are not afraid to face voters, but it was not for you, 689, to say these things." She was referring to Leung's nickname among some critics, based on the number of votes he received in the chief executive election.

Chan Yuen-han, a lawmaker from the Federation of Trade Unions, said: "Leung should instead make more effort in helping the reform package to be passed at this moment. [His attitude] might prompt Hongkongers to wonder whether he truly wants the reform to get through."

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: CY urges electors to 'vote out' pan-dems
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