Two-heads law is flawed, says legislator caught up in village poll row

Independent lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip, who has been dragged into a row that erupted after the election of Hong Kong's first expatriate village head, has accused the government of creating conflict among representatives under the controversial two-heads system.

Mr Chan, a lawyer who has a house in San Shek Wan village on South Lantau but is not a voter, said the new system had been ill thought out because it does not properly define the split in responsibilities between indigenous and non-indigenous village heads.

The legislator has been caught up in a bitter war of words after Andrew Brown, a Briton, was elected as Hong Kong's first non-indigenous village chief on July 20 by just one vote. The poll has led to an acrimonious split in the village.

Mr Chan, formerly a core member of the Democratic Party, said a loophole in the Village Representative Election Ordinance created unnecessary conflict between the two sides.

Under the ordinance, the major function of the indigenous representative is defined as reflecting the views of the indigenous residents - those who can trace their roots back to 1898.

They are also given the right to deal with all affairs relating to the lawful traditional rights and interests of indigenous inhabitants.

The law states the major function of the non-indigenous representative is to reflect views of the residents of a village without encroaching on the traditional rights of indigenous inhabitants.