Editorial | Politics is getting in the way of solving vital livelihood issues in Hong Kong
- Sadly, the public suffers when important matters cannot be addressed; some give and take is badly needed to help end the impasse in the legislature
Seven months into the social unrest, clashes between the Hong Kong police and protesters are, thankfully, no longer as serious or as often as they used to be.
However, the political battles in the Legislative Council remain intense, as reflected in the abrupt suspension of its regular meeting last week, after a surprise bid by the government to fast-track a non-controversial maternity leave amendment bill was opposed by pan-democratic lawmakers.
An array of livelihood-related proposals risks falling through if tensions prevail in the remaining months of Legco’s current term.
The scrutiny of bills has been at a standstill since October after the House Committee overseeing the council’s operation failed to elect a chairperson because of filibustering by the opposition.
When Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong sought to get around this impasse by sending the maternity leave amendment bill to the manpower panel for vetting instead, the pan-democrats objected and succeeded in temporarily stalling the attempt, due to a lack of a quorum inside the chamber.
But the government may win enough votes to push ahead with the amendment when the procedure resumes tomorrow.