Update | Visiting US congressmen nudge Hong Kong lawmakers towards compromise on electoral reform
One of three US congressmen visiting city hints at compromise over 2017 election rules, saying 'sometimes half a loaf is better than no loaf'
Three visiting US congressmen yesterday discussed with Hong Kong's lawmakers across the political divide the possibility of a compromise over electoral reform, with one suggesting that "moving forward, sometimes half a loaf is better than no loaf".
However, the bipartisan delegation, who also met Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, stopped short of endorsing the reform plan for the 2017 leadership race.
They are not trying to convince us but to learn more about the debate
Making the call about moving forward, Matt Salmon, a Republican who chairs the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, also told leaders of the four pan-democratic parties that a system where "people are elected by the people" was better than one in which leaders were chosen via a narrow constituency.
Salmon, fellow Republican Tom Emmer and Democrat Alan Lowenthal arrived in the city on Thursday on a fact-finding mission to learn about developments in Hong Kong. They held meetings yesterday with Leung and lawmakers across the spectrum on the government's reform package, which pan-democrats have pledged to reject.
Labour Party chief Lee Cheuk-yan said the congressmen had described the proposed chief executive election plan as "definitely not equal suffrage".
He said they were asked by the Americans the reasons for rejecting the package and whether they would accept other options within the proposed framework.
"They are not trying to convince us but to learn more about the reform debate," said Lee after the one-hour meeting that was also attended by Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit and Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood lawmaker Frederick Fung Kin-kee.