The legitimacy of the Government spending billions of dollars in taxpayers' money on the stockmarket was challenged yesterday.
Emily Lau Wai-hing of The Frontier said the fact that such a wide-ranging decision could be made by a small group of unelected officials was the most glaring loophole and needed remedying. 'They must be accountable to the legislature.' The Frontier urged the administration to reveal who was responsible for the decision to buy shares in the market.
It said officials should also explain how they chose brokerage firms.
It was totally unacceptable for the Government to abuse its own authority and to make new rules to kick out any investors it disliked in a free market, Ms Lau said.
'This will only destroy the image of Hong Kong as one of a free economic society,' she said. Another Frontier legislator, Lee Cheuk-yan, attributed apparent public support for the Government to the fact that the administration had not given a full and frank account of its market intervention.
