Ban on party affiliation for Hong Kong leader ‘needs review’, pro-Beijing heavyweight Starry Lee says
Head of Hong Kong’s biggest pro-government party says governance gridlock will continue without reform
The head of Hong Kong’s largest pro-government political party has called for a review of the legislature’s electoral system and rules that ban the city’s leader from having a political affiliation.
In an interview with the Post, Starry Lee Wai-king, chairwoman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, warned that the city’s governance problems would go unresolved in the absence of change.
After 20 years of “one country two systems”, the formula under which Hong Kong is governed, now was an appropriate time to review the system and look to the future, she said.
At present the city’s chief executive is barred from having any party affiliation under the election ordinance. The notion of Hong Kong having a ruling party has been a politically sensitive issue for the Communist Party in Beijing owing to potential conflicts, but the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, does not expressly ban it.
“The past chief executives came from various backgrounds: Tung Chee-hwa from the business sector, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen from the civil service, Leung Chun-ying was a professional; they all faced the same problem of forming a cabinet with talent and political and governing competence,” she said.