Hong Kong officials should avoid bulldozing bills through Legislative Council in response to political overhaul, top adviser to city leader warns
- Executive councillor Wong Kwok-kin says he worries government could become ‘complacent’, expect bills to be quickly approved by lawmakers
- Next administration must solve housing problem, giving young people more social mobility and boost level of retirement protection, he adds
A top government adviser on Sunday warned Hong Kong’s senior officials against bulldozing proposals and bills through the Legislative Council in response to the “patriots-only” overhaul of the city’s electoral system last year.
Wong Kwok-kin, a member of outgoing city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor’s de facto cabinet, the Executive Council, also told a radio programme that he hoped the next administration would boost the supply of housing and improve the level of retirement protection in Hong Kong.
Last year, Beijing imposed a series of electoral changes to ensure a “patriots-only” political system, with the overhaul leading to all but one of the 90 Legco seats going to the pro-establishment camp.
Before the move by central authorities, local officials had previously complained about the difficulties of getting bills passed by the legislature due to the presence of lawmakers from the opposition camp.
But Wong, who also serves as honorary president of the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU), said he was concerned the government now expected that it could rush bills through Legco without them being contested by lawmakers.