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Hong Kong's 60 newly elected lawmakers took office on Wednesday in a ceremony
dramatised by outbursts from radical activist "Long Hair'' Leung Kwok-hung and
followed by an stunning win by Frontier lawmaker Emily Lau of the chairmanship
of the important Finance Committee.
Pro-democracy lawmaker Lau's victory, in a chamber dominated by pro-Beijing
legislators, and the antics of Leung gave an interesting preview of the
headaches that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa can expect during his last three
years in office.
Lau's shock win over pro-Beiijing legislator Philip Wong - thanks to the backing
of the newly created Alliance of five functional constituency members and
banker David Li - is expected to inject new vitality into the battle of power
in the council, particularly the chairmanship of the Constitutional Affairs
Panel. Tung's administration is keen to see the post go to a pro-government
lawmaker, in order to control the pace of political reform for 2007-08.
The election of council president, however, went as predicted with pro-Beijing
lawmaker Rita Fan defeating democrat Albert Ho by 34 to 25 votes.
Earlier, in five minutes of high-drama in the Legco chamber, the normally solemn
swearing in ceremony took on a theatrical air when Leung, who had wanted to be
sworn in with his own oath, chanted slogans before he took the stand.
Warning a black T-shirt printed with the words "Vindicate June 4'' and "Return
power to the people'', the activist, his left hand tied in black ribbons to pay
homage to the victims in the June 4 crackdown, held up his fist and yelled,
"Reverse the verdict on June 4! Return power to the people! End the one-party
rule! Release the political prisoners!''
Leung then took the stand and went on: "I declare here loudly that I will be
loyal to Chinese people and Hong Kong people. I oppose against collusion
between the government and businessmen. I will safeguard democracy and justice,
and fight for human rights and freedoms.''
Leung who had been warned by the Legco secretariat that he would lose his seat
if he did not read the standard oath, gave in but deliberately paused twice
before the word "people'' when reading the official oath.
However, true to character, he did not let go of any protest opportunity.
Punching his fist into the air, he shouted loudly, "Long live democracy! Long
live the people! Power to the people! Oppose the small-circle elections! Elect
the chief executive by universal suffrage! Elect the Legco by universal
suffrage!''
Leung's fellow legislators, all in suits, were visibly stunned but remained calm
and silent.
Jasper Tsang, of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong
Kong (DAB) was quick to point out that Leung had forgotten to sign his oath,
but Legco secretary general Ricky Fung clarified that adding signatures was a
convention that was not legally binding.
Speaking after the Legco session, Leung admitted he had made a slight
concession in taking the oath.
"You need to be clever to beat your enemy,'' he said, explaining why he failed
to stick to his own wording of the oath. "It is very clear that I did not
resort to civil disobedience. I have considered for a very long time on how to
handle the oath. Many of my voters and friends have urged me to be tolerant and
stay on to fight for the rights of Hong Kong people, I finally decided to make
a slight concession.
"I did not amend the Legco oath, but I did voice out the long-desired views of
Hong Kong people loud and clear inside the Legco chamber,'' he said.
Leung believed his performance would make Hong Kong people proud of him.
"I made my voice clear which will be appreciated by Hong Kong people. I didn't
disgrace Hong Kong people at all. I solemnly made my declaration that I will be
loyal to Hong Kong and Chinese people.
"I did not let people down. I make the whole world know that Hong Kong people
will fight for democracy,'' he declared.
Newly elected Legco president Rita Fan also said Leung had completed taking his
oath required by law and that there was no law forbidding him to add words
before or after the oath.
However, she warned that if any member interrupted other speakers during a Legco
meeting, she could ask them to leave the chamber.
Speaking to the whole legislature after being elected as president, Fan appealed
to all members to join to work together for the good of Hong Kong, saying that
in the next four years they would have to tackle a lot of thorny issues,
particularly the election of the chief executive and the Legco in 2007-08.
cannix.yau@globalchina.com
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