Hong Kong Federation of Students pledges more openness and transparency

The Federation of Students, a key player in last year's Occupy protests, has set up a reform committee to make the organisation more open and democratic in an attempt to stop member unions from quitting, its newly elected leader announced yesterday.

Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who officially takes over as general secretary on Wednesday, said the beleaguered federation would also improve financial transparency and communicate better with members before making big decisions in future.

The reform drive at the city's most influential student group comes after University of Hong Kong student union members voted in a referendum to disaffiliate. Similar votes are set to follow at some of the federation's seven remaining member unions.

Law, a Lingnan University student, replaces Alex Chow Yong-kang as general secretary. Victor Wong Hon-leung and Wong Ka-fai will be his deputies.

Chow and his deputy Lester Shum became household names during the 79-day road blockades for democracy last year. But federation leaders were accused of acting too hastily during the protest, without consulting unions. Some at HKU accused the federation of putting too much emphasis on the fight for democracy on the mainland.

The new leaders stressed they would continue to press the government to allow the public to nominate candidates when the chief executive is elected by the public in 2017. They would also press pan-democratic lawmakers to vote down a reform package based on Beijing's tough framework for nominations.