Statutory dilemma

THE Government's constitutional power of making appointments to the territory's hundreds of statutory and non-statutory boards and advisory committees is set to be challenged again.

Legislators Lee Wing-tat of the Democratic Party and Bruce Liu Shing-lee of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood are set to introduce two private bills aimed at changing the way Housing Authority members are selected.

Mr Lee's bill will require the administration to seek Legco's endorsement of appointments to the Housing Authority by a resolution, except ex-officio members such as the secretary for housing. It will also strip the Governor of his power of appointing the authority's chairman, whom the bill says should be elected by non-official members.

Mr Liu's bill will empower the territory's 18 district boards to each elect a member to the authority and Legco to elect six. Twelve other members will be appointed by the Governor. His idea is to turn the composition of the Housing Authority into something like the urban and regional councils, similar to the way they were previously constituted before Governor Chris Patten changed them into fully elected bodies.

China has already said it would restore indirectly elected and appointed members, although the details are yet to be worked out.

The bills represent the second time in two years that the Government's power of making appointments to statutory bodies has come under assault.