Government and Policy
Tang sees no good in legislators' resignation
By Joseph Li (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-13 08:21
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 Hong Kong Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang during an exclusive interview with China Daily. [Edmond Tang/China Daily] |
HONG KONG: The resignation of five opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong over election reform will not benefit the territory, said Chief Secretary for Administration Henry Tang.
The five plan to resign this month, triggering by-elections they hope to turn into an unofficial referendum on democratic reform in the territory.
The territory will begin choosing its own leader in 2017 and all lawmakers in 2020.
Tang instead called on the opposition to discuss the 2012 electoral proposal in a rational, pragmatic manner, and forge consensus with the government.
Tang stressed there is no legal mechanism for a referendum, and the opposition is trying to use the by-election as a de facto referendum.
"It is nothing more than a by-election," he said in an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"And as reflected by opinion polls, the majority of Hong Kong people do not support the resignations, and I believe there are many far more constructive ways to bring about constitutional reform in Hong Kong."
A by-election in all five constituencies would cost at least HK$150 million ($19.3 million).
"That money can benefit the livelihood of a great many people at the grassroots," he said.
Referring to a demonstration that turned violent outside the central government's liaison office in Hong Kong on New Year's Day, Tang regretted that a small number of people chose to express their views in a disorderly manner.
He said Hong Kong is a civil society where the freedoms of assembly and expression are protected by law. Yet while enjoying such freedoms, people should also fulfill their civic obligations.
The large majority of the people taking to the street on that day behaved peacefully, he noted. It was only a small number who acted differently, but the general reaction of the public at large did not agree with their actions.
"We greatly regret that some of the people created disorder by storming past or attempting to storm past police cordons and causing physical conflict. They not only broke the peace, they caused inconvenience to others who chose to express their views in an orderly manner," he commented.
