Hong Kong elections: ‘patriots’ in legislature pledge to scrutinise government, demand accountability for failure to deliver on promises
- Candidates for Legco’s powerful new bloc ready to get tough, ensure Beijing targets are met
- Tired of vague policy plans and delays, candidates promise to press for detailed road maps
Some heavyweight candidates told the Post that if they won, they intended to hold the administration to account for failing to deliver on policy promises.
“The government should set performance indicators every year and if officials fail to achieve them they should step down the way mainland officials have done,” he said.
Other heavyweight candidates in the same constituency said they would push the government to cut red tape and introduce creative, bold measures to reinvent Hong Kong’s economy with a science and technology hub, diversified industries, green initiatives and to improve the supply of affordable housing.
An expert in robotics and automation, he vowed to pressure the government for a detailed road map, complete with a timetable and plans for financing, funding, commercialisation of research and development (R&D) results and technology transfer.
“Innovation and technology is the future of Hong Kong but the industry has been going downhill due to insufficient government funding and planning, and a worsening brain drain,” he said.
Legco has been expanded from 70 to 90 seats, with 40 from the new Election Committee constituency, 30 from mainly trade-based functional constituencies, and only 20 from geographical constituencies.
Candidates in the Election Committee constituency must secure the votes of the committee’s 1,448 members who are from 40 commercial, professional, social and political groups. Members will each pick 40 candidates in a block vote on Sunday.
The candidates include nine former lawmakers seeking re-election, party members, university professors, lawyers, think tank leaders, business veterans, retired officials, unionists, as well as a priest, electrician and bus driver.
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The previous Legco elected in 2016 was dominated by politicians from the pro-Beijing and opposition camps, with independent lawmakers in the minority.
With the reconfigured Legco, insiders said, Beijing was keen to see a diverse new group of lawmakers with expertise in different sectors making their presence felt.
“In the Election Committee constituency, Beijing could pick many quality candidates to represent different sectors,” a source said. “The winners are expected to use their expertise to push for effective policies in line with Beijing’s plans.”
Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the semi-official think tank, the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said the administration might have more to worry about with the new patriotic lawmakers scrutinising the government and demanding effective governance.
“Beijing has been unhappy with many local policies and has indicated the need to strengthen Hong Kong’s competence in governance, meaning it will demand more accountability from senior officials through scrutiny by new Legco members,” he said. “Officials should be more afraid of them than the old batch of lawmakers.”
Other candidates in the Election Committee constituency told the Post what they intended to focus on if elected.
Pro-Beijing businessman So Cheung-wing, president of Hong Kong Island Federation, would push for targeted measures, such as tax incentives and land supply, to grow eight key industries and meet targets set in Beijing’s 14th five-year plan.
“The industrialisation drive is rather weak in Hong Kong. The government hasn’t devised any specific policies to help these industries. It should ditch its non-intervention approach,” he said.
For the I&T industry, for example, he said the government should emphasise the commercialisation of R&D results and attract investors by lowering the criteria for I&T firms to seek a listing in GEM, formerly known as the Growth Enterprise Market, and the stock exchange main board.
Chan Siu-hung, 63, managing director for China of Hong Kong’s largest power company CLP, said he was keen to hasten the establishment of a global carbon trading centre in the city to meet the goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in Hong Kong and 2060 on the mainland.
“Hong Kong is a financial centre but why can’t we set up an international carbon trading centre?” he asked.
Carbon trading will allow companies that exceed their emissions quotas to offset the difference by buying permits from more efficient companies whose emissions are below their allocations.
“I’ll push for the development of the green economy in various areas such as green financing, manufacturing, construction and education so we’ll have a strong pool of green talent in future,” he said.
Lan Kwai Fong entertainment tycoon Allan Zeman, one of two Caucasian candidates in the election, took aim at red tape preventing faster, more efficient delivery of affordable housing.
“What I am pushing for is to really break the bureaucracy within the government and different departments because many rules have not been changed for many decades, including town planning rules,” he said.
