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The departure of Tung Chee-hwa as chief executive
is an example of how the high degree of autonomy Hong Kong was promised in 1997
has been superseded by intervention from Beijing, a legislator said Sunday.
On RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, social welfare sector representative
Fernando Cheung said the central government was clearly visible behind the
scenes orchestrating Tung's resignation last Thursday.
He said while he felt the public welcomed Tung's departure they had mixed
feelings about how it was done.
``The problem primarily lies with the apparent high handedness of the central
government which appeared to be manipulating the whole fiasco,'' he said.
Cheung said Tung's resignation is bad news for Hong Kong's bid for democracy as
the successor will be elected by the same 800-member Election Committee which
re-elected Tung three years ago.
``Tung's departure will actually put a hold on the democratization of the chief
executive election,'' Cheung said.
He said Tung should explain publicly why he had chosen this time to step down
and why he did not quit following anti-government protests of July 2003 when
500,000 people took to the streets or other crises that followed.
Cheung said Tung should appear before the Legislative Council as soon as
possible to answer questions on his departure.
Cheung said he was advised by political experts that according to the Basic Law
the term of the succeeding chief executive should be five years.
He said if the National People's Congress opts to interpret the law again to
change this is it would be bad news for Hong Kong.
``The past two interpretations of the Basic Law only served to weaken the rule
of law in the SAR and any further interpretation by the NPC for political
reasons could affect both the credibility and the authority of our courts,'' he
said.
On the bright side, Cheung said Tung's downfall gave the government the
opportunity to re-engage the public in important discussions such as universal
suffrage.
He said the people should hold public forums and invite candidates for the chief
executive election to explain how they intend to alleviate poverty, develop the
economy and narrow the widening income gap.
``Although we are extremely short in both resources and time, this is the time
for us to get our act together,'' Cheung said.
``It does not matter how much we can achieve. What is important is to discuss
these matters so that the next chief executive election will be a little more
open,'' he said.
dennis.ng@singtaonewscorp.com
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