Independent ‘platform’ mulled for HK political reform talks

Academics and politicians invited to the dinner with Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying at Government House shared the idea to launch an independent “platform” to hold a debate over universal suff rage, but questions emerged on how to assure an election mechanism acceptable for the central government.

Several guests invited to the dialogue on Thursday night put forward or openly supported an idea to create a consultative platform before the government commences the five formal steps to make legislation for the 2017 Chief Executive Election.

Cheung Man- kwong, former legislator and core member of the opposition Democratic Party, suggested initiating the electoral reform debate with a select committee, in which members would be allowed to make an election proposal if needed.

Cheung also agreed that such a debate will take into account the concerns raised by Zhang Xiaoming, director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, on national security and sovereignty as well as respect to the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the National People’s Congress ( NPC) Standing Committee.

Priscilla Lau Pui- king, a NPC deputy, supported the idea. Since Leung Chun-ying might seek a second term in the 2017 election, an independent body could alleviate concerns on a potential conflict of interests, she said.

The “platform” proposal was already mentioned by Raymond Tam Chi- yuen, secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs, when he spoke to the press after the Thursday dinner. But he emphasized that no decision was made at the dinner reception.

Other dinner guests raised questions about the proposal on Friday, in light of the tightrope between the concerns of the central government and demands of the opposition camp, which holds enough votes in the Legislative Council (LegCo) to kill the reform package.

Ho Lok- sang, director of the Center for Public Policy Studies at Lingnan University, also proposed a similar platform at the Thursday exchange, but he said the government must state clearly the bottom line from the outset to hold the debate.

For instance, while a candidate should be allowed to hold a view different from that of Beijing, the candidate, if elected, cannot be seen as a threat to the central government, he told China Daily.

Ho’s colleague, Li Pangkwong, was not present at the dinner. The political scientist questioned whether the “platform” could bridge the differences between Beijing and the opposition, as the central government will not engage directly in the dialogue.

The key challenge at this point, he said on Friday, is not to find out who’s thinking what — which appears clear even now — but to push for a compromise among the stakeholders. “Approval of the central government, in the end, is necessary,” he said.