‘That’s irresponsible’: Hong Kong’s top Anglican rejects calls to give up Christian seats on body electing city’s chief executive
Most Reverend Paul Kwong also denies he’s a government yes-man
Protestants must not give up their 10 seats on the body that could decide Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s re-election if he runs next year, the archbishop of the Hong Kong Anglican Church has said, rejecting a call to boycott the influential committee.
In a rare interview, his second since taking over the helm at the church in 2007, the Most Reverend Paul Kwong told the Post that, contrary to accusations, he was not a government yes-man. He claimed he had, behind closed doors, urged officials to communicate with different sectors and explain their policies more clearly and frequently.
Kwong declined to say if he supported Leung’s re-election, but he said he believed the chief executive “loves Hong Kong”.
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In 2012, Leung was elected with 689 votes from a 1,200-member Election Committee comprising business elites, professionals and 10 representatives from each of the city’s six major religions.
There are about 500,000 Protestants in Hong Kong, including as many as 40,000 from the Anglican Church. In 2011, the Christian Council organised a poll and picked 10 representatives to sit on the election committee, but a group of Protestants has been calling for the 10 seats to be vacated, as a way to boycott the chief executive election next year.