Jasper Tsang blames lack of authoritative leaders for poor Legco show
Outgoing president of the Hong Kong legislature says lawmakers should also write better speeches instead of making props
The outgoing Legislative Council president has blamed the lack of an “authoritative” leader in both of the legislature’s rival camps for its poor performance over the past few years.
Without naming names, Jasper Tsang Yok-sing also hit out at some lawmakers for wasting time to make props for protests or debates in the chamber, saying they should have made use of their time to write better speeches.
He urged both pro-establishment and pan-democrat members to improve their behaviour by the next term.
Legco recently ended its fifth term, marking 220 hours lawmakers have spent listening to the quorum bell since 2012-2013. In the past term alone, more than 115 hours were spent on quorum calls, with 596 bells sounded, as pan-democrats intensified their so-called “non-co-operation” campaign.
In a radio interview yesterday, Tsang said he had proposed allowing legislators to vote to beat the filibustering but the suggestion was not accepted.
Therefore he was left to decide on whether to cut debates short or not, he said.
“There does not seem to be a commonly agreed principle. And there is not a political leader with credibility and authority. It is the case in the pro-establishment camp, and it is also the case in the pan-democratic camp,” Tsang said.
“No one can have the authority to call the shots. So, everything is just loosely organised.”
He also said he was unhappy at seeing the quality of debates getting worse.
“I very much dislike the use of protest props. In the chamber, you should try to convince others or spell out your points to the public by giving speeches.
“But you waste your time on those gimmicks to catch media attention and there can’t be quality debates.”
Tsang expressed disappointment at the failure to pass the political reform package last year under his presidency.
On the governance of Hong Kong, he hopes a platform of representatives may be soon formed to discuss how and when discussions on political reforms can be restarted.
