LettersSecond chance for Hong Kong lawmakers to focus on city’s real needs

Name: Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmaker elected committee chair after scuffles at Legislative Council
Uploaded: 2020-08-13T00:00:09.000Z
Duration: 3 min 4 s
Description: Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmaker elected committee chair after scuffles at Legislative Council

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Legco security guards holds back a group of pan-democratic lawmakers as they attempt to surround Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (bottom left holding folder) as she leaves the Legislative Council chamber on October 16. Lam was unable to deliver the 2019 policy address speech as lawmakers constantly interrupted her with shouts and protests. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Letters

Published: 8:00am, 13 Aug 2020Updated: 8:00am, 13 Aug 2020

Legislators, what’s next please?

It is logical and sensible for the National People’s Congress to confirm the extension of the incumbent Legislative Council for at least another year. However, Hong Kong did not see much progress made by Legco in 2019-20.

How many times were meetings interrupted by the unacceptable behaviour of council members yelling, hurling objects, filibustering, or engaging in other deliberate acts aimed at scuttling the proceedings? It is high time that we, the Hong Kong public and taxpayers, who fund the paychecks of our legislators, make some demands.

First, that all legislators take a pay cut of at least 30 per cent for their non-performance, non-participation or simply absence from meetings during 2019-20.

Second, that all legislators make good the time lost in 2019-20, without pay, this time doing their jobs properly by sitting down to discuss issues in a responsible, adult manner in the meeting rooms.

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Hong Kong pro-establishment lawmaker elected committee chair after scuffles at Legislative Council

Third, for once, legislators must put livelihoods before politics. We need matters discussed and approved so we can make progress. We are never going to live in a perfect world, and we can stomach some mistakes rather than a situation in which no progress is made. Decent legislators would agree to disagree. Livelihood issues must come first.