Budget bill finally passed after 130-hour filibuster

The marathon budget debate finally came to a close last night - after 130 hours of talks - ending a filibuster that opponents had said could cost taxpayers some HK$2.25 million a day.

The budget bill was passed by a vote of 36 to 3, with one abstention, after the last of the 1,192 amendments - mainly put forward by three radical pan-democrats - was voted down around 12.40pm yesterday.

Legislative Council President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing had predicted earlier last night that the debate on the bill, which was spread over 14 days, would be finished by the end of the meeting.

The filibuster was launched by "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung of the League of Social Democrats, and Albert Chan Wai-yip and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen of People Power. They wanted to force the government to accept their demands for a universal pension scheme and cash handouts for Hongkongers.

Both parties adopted similar tactics last year to delay the passage of the budget bill. In a controversial move, Tsang invoked a house rule to force a vote after a lengthy debate of more than 120 hours across 13 days.

During the debate earlier yesterday, Starry Lee Wai-king, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), argued that the legislature could not monitor the government properly by means of filibustering, as claimed by the pan-democrats.

"It only disrupts the normal proceedings of the legislature and weakens the powers of the legislature to monitor the government," said Lee.