"Pro-democracy" legislators in the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region submitted a motion to hold a referendum on
the implementation of universal suffrage for the elections of the
chief executive and legislature in 2007 and 2008. The Legislative
Council (LegCo) voted the motion down in a Monday ballot.
Of the 54 members attending a special meeting of the LegCo
constitutional affairs panel, 31 voted against the Fernando
Cheung's motion while 20 supported it. Three members -- Chim
Pui-chung, Joseph Lee and Tam Heung-man -- abstained. The panel
comprises 58 members.
Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam addressed the
panel prior to the voting.
Lam said no provision was made in the Basic Law or local
legislation with respect to conducting a referendum in the SAR and,
as a result, the authorities did not possess the power to use the
data of 3.2 million registered voters for the purpose of a
referendum.
He added that the community is still short of consensus over the
question of local political reforms, especially on the question of
universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.
Lee Cheuk-yan asserted that the LegCo election results were
evidence of a consensus on the question of political reform.
But Lam replied, "While it is a fact that 62 percent of voters
voted for the 'pro-democracy' camp in the LegCo election, about 40
percent also voted for parties with a stance different from the
pan-democrats. We cannot say there is a consensus in the SAR."
Lam said the government would not consider any unconstitutional
proposals that would run against the Basic Law and the NPCSC
ruling. Since Hong Kong is not a sovereign state, it is required to
liaise with the central government on its constitutional
development.
Legislator and Liberal Party Chairman James Tien also disagreed
with the claims that there was already a consensus in society.
Independent legislator Chim Pui-chung called on his council
colleagues not to waste time and energy on an issue that was bound
to achieve nothing. Instead, Chim suggested, legislators should
focus more on local concerns such as the West Kowloon Project.
Ahead of the meeting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Commissioner
in Hong Kong Yang Wenchang said a referendum is a serious issue and
no decision on it could be taken lightly. It is necessary for Hong
Kong, especially politicians such as legislative councilors, to
stay cool and act responsibly in the interest of the people, said
Yang.
Earlier this month, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa slammed the
motion attempt, saying it would seriously undermine community
harmony and damage the HKSAR's cordial ties with the central
government.
Tung's remarks were backed by Director of the Liaison Office of
the Central People's Government in Hong Kong Gao Siren, who warned
that the referendum, as proposed, amounted to a challenge to the
country's constitutional setup and contravened the SAR's legal
status.
(China Daily December 2, 2004))