Legislative Council President Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen describes the past four years at the helm of Hong Kong’s legislature as “a roller coaster ride”.
A legislator since 2004 and LegCo’s president since 2016, Leung has not decided whether he will run for another term.
In a joint media interview that included China Daily, Leung said LegCo had a honeymoon period with the government when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor first assumed office, but LegCo’s relationship with Lam was more often than not very strained and could suddenly hit rock bottom.
The good relations followed Lam’s consent to attend extra question time at LegCo once a month, and the visit to LegCo of the then-director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. “There were also sad moments, particularly when I saw the Legislative Council Complex and its chamber in shambles after it was vandalized (by violent rioters) on July 1, 2019,” he said.
Because of damage to the LegCo building and the meeting facilities, meetings were suspended for several months. In addition, work in the House Committee stagnated as the election of the committee chairperson was delayed for months because of the opposition camp’s continual filibusters. Despite these problems, Leung does not think the current term is the least inefficient in the city’s history.
“Some bills were shelved due to political reasons or the coronavirus pandemic. For the last (six-term) LegCo meeting, which will be held this week, we will handle a total of 12 bills after they are vetted by the bills committees. If time is used properly, two days is enough. If all the 12 bills are approved, the efficiency of this term will be more or less the same as that of the other terms.”
‘Serve HK people’
Leung said that legislators’ duty is to serve the Hong Kong people. “They can choose the way they present their views. Yet they often hold placards, shout, filibuster at meetings, and get expelled from meetings. They will not form good impressions in the minds of the residents, and they have let the residents down,” he said in response to the discipline of the opposition camp.
In December 2017, the pro-establishment camp initiated massive amendments to the LegCo Rules of Procedure to minimize the possibility of disruptive filibusters. Asked if the rules should be further amended, Leung said it will be up to LegCo of the following term to decide.
“The ‘pan-democrats’ argued that their freedom of expression is limited by the amendments to the rules. They choose to be fighters and fight with bodily confrontations.
“It must be noted that the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal says legislators have no right to filibuster, while the meeting time belongs to the entire legislature but not to an individual legislator. The Court of First Instance also rules that the powers of the president of the Legislative Council in presiding at the meetings by virtue of Article 72 of the Basic Law include the power to adjourn the meeting at the right time and put matters to vote,” he said.
For the 2020-21 Budget, Leung had set aside more than 30 hours for debate, but he said the opposition camp filibustered as usual to delay important livelihood measures, including the HK$10,000 (US$1,290) cash payout program for permanent residents.
“They did not use the time properly, using various tricks to delay and abort the meetings and also complaining there was not enough time. This made me … wonder whether they did not have sufficient time or have too much time.”
