Chief executive again denies problem between executive and legislature

For the second time in six days, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has dismissed any suggestion of a problem between the executive and the legislature - prompting the Legislative Council chief to suggest Leung could be oversimplifying the matter.

The Legco house committee chairman also weighed into the debate, saying that the ties between lawmakers and the executive branch had descended to "the lowest point ever", with both sides now appearing more "ready for a fight" than for cooperation.

"There is no problem between the executive and legislative branches," Leung said before yesterday's Executive Committee meeting.

"But there's a problem within Legco - which is that several lawmakers have repeatedly used filibustering to stop other lawmakers from scrutinising, approving or vetoing the government's proposals and motions."

He was referring to radical pan-democrats' threat to stage more filibusters if the government refused to remove funding applications for its controversial waste infrastructure plans.

But Legco president Jasper Tsang Yok-sing said that if the chief executive saw the problem as lying only with a minority of three to four lawmakers, "I think this is seeing the problem in a simple manner".

"[Last Thursday,] all the pan-democrat lawmakers stood up and walked out in protest against the chief executive," he said. "I don't think the public would accept that as a normal executive-legislative relationship."