Legco chief says electoral reforms have enemies in both political camps
Jasper Tsang sees enemies of package in Beijing and its camp, as well as among pan-democrats
One of Hong Kong's top pro-establishment politicians is not sure how keen either Beijing or the pan-democrats are about reaching a compromise to see the government's final package of electoral-reform proposals passed by the Legislative Council.
Legco President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said there should be no difficulty in endorsing the blueprint for the 2017 chief executive election if both sides were motivated enough, but he had not seen any realistic hope so far.
"I have no way to know if both Beijing and the pan-democrats have the motivation to secure the passage of the proposals," Tsang said.
His pessimistic view was also reflected in the latest result of the rolling poll jointly conducted by three of the city's universities to gauge public support for the reform package. It showed that 42.5 per cent of 1,157 respondents polled from May 3 to Thursday supported the proposal, while 39.5 per cent opposed it.
The gap was the narrowest since the survey was started on April 23, despite a government blitz to promote the restrictive framework imposed by Beijing. The pan-democrats have vowed to vote it down this summer, saying it will screen out candidates not favoured by Beijing.
Tsang said yesterday that some people, himself included, would be disappointed if the reform package was blocked, but others would be happy.
"Those people [who would be happy about a rejection] come from Beijing and the pro-establishment and pan-democratic camps," he said.