Lawmaker calls for restraint from HK people
Ma says freedoms of expression and the press are not without bottom lines
Ma Fung-kwok, a lawmaker seeking reelection in the Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication (SPACP) functional constituency, said people should not push the central government too far in pursuing radical political ideas.
“In Hong Kong, we enjoy freedom of the press and the freedom to express and to create, yet these freedoms are not without bottom lines, just like people should not advocate independence of Hong Kong,” he stressed.
“Under ‘One Country, Two Systems’, these freedoms can flourish with mutual trust a n d m u t u a l r e s p e c t . We
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should uphold these values but not to test the central government’s bottom line too frequently,” he added.
In the past, he was unable to contact voters in his cons t i t u e n c y d u e t o a h e av y workload in the Legislative Council, which was plagued by destructive filibusters. Since the end of the legislative term, he has called on the four sectors in the constituency over 20 times, attended several debates and talked with the elec tors. He feels the response of the electors is positive from the personal contacts.
In the 2012 elec tion, Ma won 1,106 votes, beating the two opponents by a wide margin. This time, he is campaigning against Adrian Chow Pok-yin, a composer and songwriter. He does not think it will be an easy contest. This is because Chow is good at winning support with h i s “u m b r e l l a i d e o l o g i e s ”, explained Ma.
“It is good to have competition that provides a choice to the voters. I think I have considerable support from each of the four sectors of this large constituency because of my pragmatic work. I feel confident for winning the election but I will continue to work hard to win support from more constituents,” Ma told China Daily.
At present, he is drafting a sports proposal based on his earlier proposal in 2000. In his earlier proposal, he suggested, apart from raising elites, more events should be held to promote sports and make it popular.
In his latest proposals, he says sports should be made into an industry which can generate revenue and attract more people to become professional sportsmen. Sports science, sports medicine, training and sales of sports equipment all had a role to play, he added.
Ma i s p l e a s e d t h a t t h e Hong Kong Film De velopment Council, of which he is chairman, has financed the production of a number of local movies. These have the special aim of grooming rookie movie directors.
“The movie Weeds on Fire, adapted from the real-life story of the endeavors of the youth baseball team in Sha Tin in the 1980 s, was shot with HK$2 million funding from the council.
“It is an unimaginable, small budget production, but it is remarkable that it was completed with the help of many volunteers in the film sector.”