John Tsang walks thin line as he promises both political reform and revisiting of Article 23 in election manifesto

This was the Post’s rolling coverage of the press conference hosted by chief executive contender John Tsang Chun-wah at YMCA of Hong Kong at 2.30pm, where he elaborated on his election platform. In the 75-page manifesto uploaded on his campaign website at 10am on Monday, the former financial secretary pledged to restart the electoral reform process and revive the legislative work to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law.

Article 23 states that Hong Kong should enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition and subversion against the central government. The Hong Kong government attempted to pass such a law but shelved the plan after half a million people took to the streets in protest on July 1, 2003.

See below for reactions to Tsang's manifesto, a timeline of events at the press conference, as well as some of the platform’s key points.

Reactions to John Tsang’s manifesto

Members of the Democratic Party said they believed “it was a good thing” if former financial secretary John Tsang Chun-wah did not blindly obey the “831 decision” – the stringent framework on political reform laid down by the National People’s Congress standing committee on August 31, 2014.