Letters | If Hong Kong can’t have democracy, a petition system that improves on China’s might be the next best option

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks during a media briefing before an Executive Council meeting in Tamar on August 13. Hongkongers would benefit from a channel to express their views directly to the government and lawmakers. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 7:15am, 18 Aug 2019Updated: 7:15am, 18 Aug 2019

The administration of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the Legislative Council recognise that they are out of touch with the public and should be looking for new ways to provide feedback. The administration has been working hard over the past few years to curtail dissenting voices. A new approach is required.

China has adopted an administrative system of petitioning, to hear complaints and grievances, an approach that has been adopted by a number of countries, including the United Kingdom’s Parliament and the US’ White House. Setting up a petition system seems to be a good solution for Hong Kong.

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

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