When politics trumps reason: Continual filibustering by Hong Kong’s pan-democrats has gone too far

The average man on the street is unlikely to have woken up to the dire consequences of the deliberate and calculated filibuster of proceedings in the Legislative Council by pan-democratic legislators. Initially regarded by television viewers as an occasional, laughable melodrama, the latest, most lethal variant has turned into a very black comedy that is hurting the core interests of Hong Kong.

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Legco’s rules of procedure, a product of the colonial era, were drawn up to enable different voices to be heard in the chamber. It was unimaginable that they would become a nuclear weapon in the arsenal of pan-democrats bent on paralysing government business. It was inconceivable, not only during the colonial era but also in the early stage of Hong Kong’s democratic development, that pro-democracy legislators would “weaponise” the rules to stall government business at the expense of the overall interests of Hong Kong.

For example, the rules permit an unlimited number of amendments to bills to be moved as long as they are “relevant” to the subject matter and not ruled “frivolous or meaningless” by Legco’s president. In April 2012, in their attempt to block the Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012, a bill which prohibits legislators from standing for re-election within six months of their resignation, the gang of three – lawmakers “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Albert Chan Wai-yip and Wong Yuk-man – collectively moved more than 1,000 amendments to the bill. It took 85 hours and 50 minutes of debate, spread over 14 Legco sessions spanning five weeks, before the bill was passed.

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The rules governing the operation of the statutory committees which wield real power – the Finance Committee and its two subcommittees, on public works and the creation of directorate government posts – are equally lax. Under these rules, a legislator may move, without notice, motions to express a view on a proposal as long as they are “directly related to the agenda item”. This rule has opened up opportunities for the filibuster gang to move hundreds of amendments to government expenditure items, resulting in protracted delays.

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In a determined effort to block the passage of these two projects, pan-democratic legislators have resorted to intensified filibustering of funding applications which come before them. As the result, of the 72 items before the public works subcommittee, only five, involving expenditure of HK$475 million, out of the government’s budget for the year of HK$70 billion, have been approved. Likewise, at the establishment subcommittee, only two of 24 items have been approved.