Letters | If Hong Kong can’t have democracy, a petition system that improves on China’s might be the next best option
Local residents would be able to log onto a website using their Hong Kong identity card to validate eligibility. Once on the website, they could create a new petition or express their preference for an existing petition, with the software limiting the voting to any single petition but not recording their preferences.
With suitable controls in place, the Legislative Council could review active petitions and record how the elected members wish to respond to Hongkongers’ aspirations. This may not be democracy, but it will provide feedback on hot topic issues and establish the strength of public feeling for the elected chamber to respond to. How the Legislative Council and the administration respond to such requests can then provide the basis for new petitions.
The system is not perfect, but it provides a clearer and more dynamic picture than the current binary.
Tymon Mellor, Tai Po