Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong will not toe party line
Ronny Tong is not compromising on his quest for genuine universal suffrage
Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah will not follow the party's line in voting for political reform even if the majority of Hongkongers say they support a government proposal that falls short of "genuine universal suffrage".
The most important criterion that decides his voting preference will be universal suffrage without screening of candidates, he said.
As a member of the pan-democratic camp, we have to stick to our principles, which is genuine universal suffrage. Should we follow the public blindly if most people say they do not desire universal suffrage?
Party chairwoman Audrey Eu Yuet-mee said last week that lawmakers must respect public opinion. If it shows clear support of the government's proposal, the party must take this into consideration when voting.
The Alliance for True Democracy, comprising 26 of 27 pan-democratic lawmakers, will hold an electronic voting exercise around the middle of next year in which the yet-to-be-announced government proposal could be listed as one of the options.
"As a member of the pan-democratic camp, we have to stick to our principles, which is genuine universal suffrage. Should we follow the public blindly if most people say they do not desire universal suffrage?" he asked.
Tong, who was deemed a moderate in the last political reform debate in 2010, was among the lawmakers who participated in negotiations with top mainland officials in Hong Kong. A year before that, Tong revealed, the Civic Party had asked him to pledge that he would vote along the party line, which he did.