The government appears to be heading for a narrow victory in its fight to secure the civil service pay cut in Legco on Wednesday, with just four independent legislators yet to declare their voting intentions.
Thirty-one votes are needed to get the bill passed and 28 lawmakers have already pledged to support the legislation. Of the four undeclared voters, three - Eric Li Ka-cheung, Ng Leung-sing and David Li Kwok-po - are generally considered pro-government. Bernard Charnwut Chan has the fourth vote.
Eric Li, convenor of the breakfast group of non-affiliated lawmakers, said yesterday he would remain tight-lipped on his intentions. 'We don't want to make things worse. You see how people react when one person makes some remarks,' he said.
He was referring to the angry response from staff on Saturday against Secretary for Civil Service Joseph Wong Wing-ping, who said yesterday's protest marchwas unnecessary and would hurt the civil service's image.
Although the Breakfast Group is apparently split, with two declared votes in favour and two against, Mr Li said it was unclear whether the seven core members of the group would vote as a bloc. He said they would meet today to assess the situation. He said he would seek in his decision to balance the interests of different groups.
At least 27 lawmakers have vowed to vote against the bill, which seeks to implement pay cuts of between 1.58 per cent and 4.42 per cent from October.
