Legislative Council Finance Committee Chairman Chan Kin-por said he supports the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress to extend the term of the current legislature of Hong Kong — a move the country’s top legislature made after Hong Kong’s LegCo general election was postponed for a year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Four opposition legislators who had been disqualified from running in the election will be allowed to stay in office until the next vote in September 2021.
Chan called on lawmakers to cherish the opportunity and work wholeheartedly upon their return to the legislature for the well-being of society by helping fight COVID-19 and restart the economy
“The NPCSC decision is closest to Section 11 of the Legislative Council Ordinance that for an emergency session, those holding office during the term of office immediately before the emergency session shall be deemed as members of the Legislative Council,” he told China Daily on Wednesday.
“This shows the NPCSC truly respects the relevant Hong Kong legislation to resolve the problem according to ‘one country, two systems’, without setting up a ‘provisional’ or ‘caretaker’ legislature. The NPCSC also made a good gesture by not kicking out the four people who are not even qualified to take part in the election,” Chan said.
“This is the least controversial arrangement that presents a better public perception. If the four people had not been allowed to stay, they would have become ‘martyrs’ and shifted the media focus.”
Chan called on lawmakers to cherish the opportunity and work wholeheartedly upon their return to the legislature for the well-being of society by helping fight COVID-19 and restart the economy.
“They should no longer disrupt or filibuster the meetings,” he said.
Because the following year is deemed an extension of the current legislative term, it is necessary to reelect the chairman and deputy chairman of various committees and panels, with the exception of the LegCo president, who is elected for the entire term. Some committee elections were disrupted by filibustering in the past year.
In 2019-20, the opposition camp filibustered the election of the Finance Committee chairman for almost 20 hours. The election of the House Committee chairman was filibustered for seven months.
Chan is confident that this time, the election of House Committee and Finance Committee chairs will be problem-free.
“Since the existing chairman and deputy chairman of both committees are from the pro-establishment camp, this prevents an opposition deputy chairman the chance to chair the meeting, handle the election, abuse power and delay the election when the chairman is ineligible for chairing the meeting if he or she intends to stand for reelection,” he said.
Urged by the radicals to give up their seats together, opposition lawmakers are left in a very embarrassing position. If they stay on, that will signal their “support” for postponing the general election. “I guess most of them will stay on, and they will find excuses to stay on. It is hard to give up the lucrative HK$100,000 (US$12,900) monthly remuneration and various allowances totaling HK$3 million per year. If they relinquish their seats, they will also lose their political influence.”
Chan said he disagrees with the suggestion by some that the government should avoid introducing controversial policies in the extended LegCo session.
“Things that are good for Hong Kong in the long run should be done regardless of short-term disputes or high costs. Otherwise, there will be no planning for the long term,” he said.
“If an issue is controversial, that means there are both people for and against the issue. The government should be a facilitator through discussions, debate and voting on the matter.”
For example, he said, the government should present the Lantau Tomorrow Vision project and the related feasibility study to the Finance Committee. The proposed massive land-reclamation proposal, which would be off the northeastern coast of Lantau Island, has an estimated cost of up to HK$500 billion.
“If a feasibility study is not done, we don’t know if the project is worth doing,” Chan said.
