Hong Kong justice chief Rimsky Yuen challenges pan-democrats on political reform
Rimsky Yuen says lawmakers who vote against the government's reform plan should come up with an acceptable proposal of their own
Pan-democrats should come up with an electoral reform proposal of their own that would be acceptable to all if they vote down the government's model next week, Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said.
Yuen issued the challenge after two years of working towards political reform, an experience he described as "a bit upsetting" due to the intolerant attitude of some politicians.
"I know I may offend a lot of people by saying this, but I do hope more people can look at the overall interests [of the city] on political reform and other issues in an objective manner, and not just looking at the number of votes" they would win, he said in an interview. He urged politicians to instead win over voters with their analysis of what would be in the city's best interests.
"Before I joined the government, I was a little naive. After I came…I hope more people can be objective, rational and tolerant, instead of only chanting slogans," Yuen said.
Before his appointment in 2012, Yuen practised as a barrister specialising in commercial law. He served on the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, but stepped down when he took office.
Along with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and constitutional affairs chief Raymond Tam Chi-yuen, Yuen has led efforts to win over the 27 pan-democratic lawmakers who are threatening to block reform. And he admits the government has run out of new arguments to present for its model for the 2017 chief executive election. " I hope pan-democrats focus on discussions in the remaining time."
He made two further points. First, while he acknowledged that not everyone wanted a system under which a 1,200-strong nominating committee would pick two or three hopefuls in 2017, a system of one person, one vote would still be a step forward.
"Second, after we have universal suffrage for the chief executive, we can start to work on universal suffrage for Legco. These two things will bring a very big contrast" to the situation now, he added.
"But up to now, I have not heard from the pan-democratic camp or others that if reform is voted down this time, someone will be confident to find, within a short time, a new proposal that will be accepted by the pro-establishment camp, the central government, and Hong Kong society."
With only two years left in office, Yuen says it will be difficult to relaunch the reform exercise if the bill fails to win a two-thirds majority in Legco.
And he declined to comment on the political climate should reform fail. "There may be more people coming out to take out political work. We don't know… But there is also a view it's time for both sides to cool down and learn from the lesson."
He acknowledged that failure could also worsen relations with the mainland, "but it's hard to guess the impact. I don't want to amplify the issue like what you see in the newspapers".
He urged Hongkongers to consider the mainland perspective when looking at other issues, too, including tourism policy.
As for his own future, Yuen says it is "too early to ask" whether he will consider serving another term.
