'Task force' to study HK reforms

[bonsai]

Hong Kong's leader Tung Chee-hwa has said he will set up a task force to look at political reform and the possibility of moves towards further democracy.
But speaking in his annual policy address to the Hong Kong legislature, he stressed he would first have to consult Beijing about any potential changes.

"The opinions of the central government leaders are of course very important," he said.

His speech came after thousands rallied in the territory on New Years Day calling for greater democracy, including the direct election of the territory's leader and all its legislators.

It was the biggest protest since half a million people marched in July against a proposed security bill which the government then abandoned indefinitely.

Mr Tung made his pledge to set up a task force, along with an acknowledgement for the need for greater public consultation.

"We understand the concern of the community over our future constitutional development and the importance of constitutional review," he said.

But he offered no timetable for the proposed measures and his words failed to impress pro-democracy campaigners, hundreds of whom had gathered outside the Legislative Council during the speech.

They called for Mr Tung's resignation and demanded full elections.

"We are very dissatisfied with the policy address which totally failed to listen to the demands of the public for a quicker move toward full democracy," said Richard Tsoi, a spokesman for the Civil Human Rights Front which organised the demonstrations.

Mr Tung's popularity has plummeted over the last year because of his government's handling of the Sars crisis and the proposed security bill.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3375355.stm

[xazncrazinessx]

Wait how likely is it that the PRC will let Hong Kong become a full democracy? I personally think it ain't gonna happen. the prc is a communism and since HOng kong is a semi-autnonmous territory of china i don't think that china will /let/ hong kong move torwards full democracy.

[bonsai]

Hong Kong Leader Offers No Timetable for Planned Reforms
*Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa says a panel first will discuss the issues with Beijing.

By Tyler Marshall, Times Staff Writer

HONG KONG — Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa failed to set out a much-anticipated timetable for democratic reform during his annual policy address Wednesday and instead announced a task force to consult with Beijing legal experts on the issue.

During his speech to the territory's Legislative Council and at a news conference afterward, Tung said the decision to consult with the central government came at the insistence of Chinese President Hu Jintao during a meeting last month.

"President Hu told me he was very concerned about this," Tung told reporters, who grilled him on the issue after the speech. Tung said the consultation with Beijing was needed to clarify several "technical and legal issues" before any move was taken toward broadening the limited democratic rights Hong Kong enjoys as a semiautonomous special administrative region of China.

"There are issues of principle and law that are not clear," he said. "If they are not clear, how can you move forward?"

Pro-democracy activists were angered by the remarks.

"I hadn't expected much, but this is even worse than my very low expectations," said Audrey Eu, an independent member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council and a prominent voice for political reform. "This is a clear message that nothing can be done unless there is a green light from Beijing. I'm appalled by his policy address."

Independent analysts had similar reactions.

"In terms of political reform, the policy address is a failure," said Hong Kong University political scientist Sonny Lo. He predicted the move would add to public discontent over Tung's performance and increase activity among political opponents pressing for change.

Pressure to broaden voting rights to include the direct election of both the chief executive and all 60 members of the Legislative Council has steadily grown in the months since half a million pro-democracy advocates filled the streets July 1 in a rally that helped defeat a Beijing-backed anti-subversion bill. On New Year's Day, tens of thousands turned out to call for greater democracy.

In the fall, Constitutional Affairs Secretary Stephen Lam pledged to set out a timetable by the end of last year for achieving those voting reforms by 2007. Wednesday, however, he made it clear that Hu had preempted that idea.

"Originally, we had planned to have a timetable ready in December, but then we had this new development," Lam said. "The central government wanted discussions first."

Tung was reelected in 2002 by a committee of 800 carefully vetted members of the territory's elite. In elections scheduled for September, half the legislative seats — up from 24 — will be filled by direct popular vote and half will be appointed. Under the terms of the territory's return from British to Chinese rule in 1997, direct elections are considered a goal, but there is a 10-year moratorium on constitutional change.

One of the issues Beijing apparently wants clarified is whether reforms completed by 2007 would apply to the chief executive's election scheduled for that year or if they would become valid only for the following election, in 2112.

Eu said that in light of Wednesday's developments, reform advocates would push ahead with a voter registration drive and work to make direct election of the chief executive the central issue in September's legislative vote.

Chief Secretary for Administration Donald Tsang, whom Tung appointed to head the task force, insisted Wednesday that the consultation demanded by Beijing did not preclude the possibility of completing the reforms by 2007. "We have three years," he said. "There is enough time for us to decide on the best way to move forward and pass a law."

But the manner in which Tung delivered his remarks on the issue, as much as the content, indicated little enthusiasm for pushing for such a timetable. Although Tung said in his speech that new measures were needed to "get closer to the people and respond more vigorously to the aspirations of the people," constitutional reform was the last of nine steps mentioned to improve governance.

In a speech lasting more than an hour, Tung devoted three minutes to the topic.

[bonsai]

HK press questions reform pledge
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3379127.stm

Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa's promise to consult the public over political reform has been greeted with scepticism by several of the territory's papers.

The Standard doubts whether the Hong Kong government will be able to take this process very far, considering that Mr Tung has no choice but to defer to Beijing in constitutional matters.

"The government's hands are tied," is the paper's verdict. "As far as constitutional reforms are concerned, Beijing has the final say."

However, The Standard still feels that it is worthwhile for democracy campaigners to keep up the pressure, reminding its readers that demonstrations against a controversial anti-subversion bill in the summer of 2003 forced the government to shelve the proposal.

"The people of Hong Kong made history on July 1 last year. The happenings of the past six months clearly demonstrate change is not impossible. It's up to the people to make a difference. It's up to them to shape the future."

Gloves off

The South China Morning Post complains that Mr Tung's speech on Wednesday - in which he pledged to set up a task force to look at political reform - was rather short on specifics.

"Yesterday's policy speech did not even include a reference to a timetable. Mr Tung kept faith with Beijing, but not with the Hong Kong people," the paper's editorial says.

And a commentator in the same paper points out that the Chinese government responded remarkably quickly to Mr Tung's speech, issuing its own policy statement within minutes.

This haste "reflects a high level of concern and nervousness over the direction of political reform in Hong Kong," the writer, Wang Xiangwei, says, in a piece headlined "With a Sharp Jab, The Gloves Are Off".

The mass-circulation Apple Daily warns Mr Tung against playing for time by promising to take up the issue of reform with the Chinese government.

It says that the people of Hong Kong will resent any such stalling tactic, as "the residents all very clearly know that their demands for democracy will keep being ignored!"

Plea for understanding

Two of Hong Kong's Chinese-language papers take a more conciliatory line.

"So long as all sides stick to a spirit of seeking common ground while maintaining differences, the issue will not be impossible to solve," Ming Pao says.

And Sing Tao warns its readers of the consequences of defying Beijing, suggesting that "increasing mutual understanding as far as possible through rational talks is the best strategy for playing this ball game."

The Beijing paper China Daily is dismissive of democracy campaigners' calls for a timetable for reform.

"The government is committed to launching an open consultation, unlike others who believe they have a monopoly of democracy...

"If they are allowed to get their way, Hong Kong's constitutional review will become a nightmare for democracy and the rule of law," it warns.

[bonsai]

Wait how likely is it that the PRC will let Hong Kong become a full democracy? I personally think it ain't gonna happen. the prc is a communism and since HOng kong is a semi-autnonmous territory of china i don't think that china will /let/ hong kong move torwards full democracy.

i agree with you. as long as hong kong needs to answer to beijing, hong kong will never become a full democracy.

[Made in China]

Hong Kong peeps are too stubborn to give in to commies. We 7 million can protest, HK people are close knit, Too proud of their Capitalist Democracy to give it away to those..........COMMIES.