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Leung Chun-ying on a visit to Wong Tai Sin in 2012. Photo: Felix Wong
The government has suspended the chief executive's ritual meet-the-people sessions for the first time in the wake of the Occupy Central protests.
"The social atmosphere and situation back then" has prompted the cancellation of town hall meetings, said a government spokesman, apparently referring to the months-long pro-democracy sit-ins last year.
Meetings were supposed to have been held in the final quarter of 2014, but the usual scenes of young protesters chanting slogans and the elderly queuing for tickets to the chief executive's sessions will not be seen ahead of the policy address and budget this year.
The decision to suspend direct dialogue with the public in drafting the policy address was criticised by advocacy groups and pan-democrats.
"This is very undesirable," said Au Yeung Kwun-tung, organiser of the Alliance for Universal Pension, who has frequently led the elderly to express their views in the public forums.
"This is the only occasion throughout the year which allows the public to voice their opinions on how the public resources should be allocated to officials," he said.
Au Yeung said it was unacceptable for the administration to use the Occupy movement as an excuse to hide from the public.
In October, the government invited the public to give their views on the policy address and budget, to be announced on January 14 and February 25, respectively, via internet, fax and phone, without specifying whether public forums would be held. Au Yeung said written submissions could never replace direct dialogue, adding that it was difficult for elderly people to file their views online.
Leung Chun-ying vowed to be an "approachable" chief executive when he took the helm in July 2012.
At least three town hall meetings have been held annually to canvass public views on the policy address - sometimes together with the annual budget - in the past five years, although such forums often ended in chaos.
The pro-establishment camp was often accused of mobilising the elderly to snap up limited entrance tickets and rallying government supporters to dominate the forums.
In 2013, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah was hit by an egg hurled by League of Social Democrats activist Derek Chan Tak-cheung.
Beijing-loyalist lawmaker Wong Kwok-kin, of the Federation of Trade Unions, said it was "understandable" for the government to cancel the forums amid the Occupy protests as they would only attract demonstrations that could turn into scuffles.
Meanwhile, the government was criticised yesterday for adopting a piecemeal approach on youth policy. Speaking on RTHK's City Forum, Kalvin Ho Kai-ming of the Young Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood called for a "systematic" and "continuous" policy.
"[Former chief executive] Donald Tsang Yam-kuen had said six new pillars of industry would be developed - where are they now?" Ho asked, adding that without a fair and just political system, all other livelihood issues would lag behind.
And the assistant professor of Polytechnic University's department of applied social sciences, Chung Kim-wah, told the programme politicians should put their disputes aside and focus on Hong Kong's problems.
Occupy co-founders Dr Chan Kin-man, Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming are among 30 key members of the civil disobedience campaign who will be told to report to police. Photo: May Tse
More than 30 key figures of civil disobedience face prosecution after police initiated their first post-Occupy Central arrests yesterday over the mass sit-ins for democracy.
At least four pan-democratic party leaders-cum-lawmakers are on a list of people the police force is inviting to help with the investigations.
The Civic Party's Alan Leong Kah-kit, Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan and League of Social Democrats' Leung Kwok-hung were among those requested to visit police headquarters in Wan Chai, according to a police source. Once there, the source said, they would be arrested for instigating, organising or aiding and abetting an unlawful assembly over the 79-day protests.
Also listed were Occupy's organising trio - the Reverend Chu Yiu-ming and academics Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Dr Chan Kin-man - who turned themselves in last month.
"They are asked to go to the police headquarters to assist in a probe in connection with a case of unlawful assembly," the source said, adding they would be arrested and then granted bail.
"If they fail to come, we will visit them and make arrests."
Other big names include media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Democratic Party legislator Albert Ho Chun-yan, People Power legislator Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and NeoDemocrat Gary Fan Kwok-wai.
Key members of two pupil groups that spearheaded the movement were also listed, including Alex Chow Yong-kang and Eason Chung Yiu-wa of the Federation of Students and Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong Chi-fung.
Some of these people were arrested during the police's clearance of the Admiralty base camp on December 11 for obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty and for taking part in an unlawful assembly.
It is understood police have failed to contact Wong or Lai, who is not in Hong Kong, and have drawn up a second list of 100 democracy activists.
"We target the key players first and then we will contact others in the next phase of the operation," the source said.
The action came after police secured enough evidence against the activists, he said.
Chan Kin-man said the Occupy trio were ready for arrest. He warned that the police action would only spark a public outcry.
"Chinese University estimates that about 1.2 million people have taken part in Occupy," he said. "The police should not presume that those participants would steer clear of the matter if they arrested only the leaders."
Lee said he was ready to bear the legal consequences of joining the illegal protests and would reiterate his arguments in court. "We took part in the so-called illegal assembly just to fight for genuine universal suffrage," he said.
Occupy started in Admiralty on September 28 and the last site, in Causeway Bay, was cleared on December 15. Hours later, police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung pledged the force would arrest the "principal instigators" and aimed to finish its investigations within three months.
Occupy co-founder Benny Tai had told the tribunal the claims "might affect the right of citizens to organise public meetings". Photo: David Wong
The District Court is to hear claims against Occupy Central's co-founders and fellow protesters from people who say they lost money due to the 79 days of street blockades.
Small Claims Tribunal Principal Adjudicator Anthony Chow Siu-wo yesterday agreed to a request from Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting to have the claims - worth HK$118,000 - heard in the higher court, on the grounds that they involved complex issues.
Chow said the "causes of action" the defendants relied on - a legal term meaning the facts that form the basis of a lawsuit - were "very complicated and there is no precedent to follow".
"The consequence of the court's decision will have a long-term effect in Hong Kong, so I find these cases should not be heard in the Small Claims Tribunal," he added.
Tai had told the tribunal the claims "might affect the right of citizens to organise public meetings" and added: "The decision made by the court might have a long-lasting impact."
More than 30 lawsuits were filed with the tribunal during and after the blockades, most from taxi drivers, shop owners and housewives who said they were hit in the pocket by the pro-democracy protests. All but 11 were withdrawn before the hearing.
Besides Tai, the respondents included fellow co-founders Dr Chan Kin-man and the Reverend Chu Yiu-ming; student leaders Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Lester Shum and Alex Chow Yong-kang; media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit.
Speaking outside court, claimant Chan Kam-wing said he found the tribunal's decision unfair. But the taxi driver said he and other cabbies would continue to pursue their claims.
Tai said after the hearing that the adjudicator had balanced the interests of both sides.
Meanwhile the University of Hong Kong academic said he had no expectations of a new round of government consultation on political reform due to start his week. He dismissed an idea by HKU law faculty Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee of giving Hongkongers a veto over all candidates chosen by a 1,200-strong nominating committee at the 2017 chief executive election.
"It is only a denying vote; however it does not meet the requirement of a universal and fair election," Tai said of Chen's suggestion. He said he would wait for the release of the consultation paper before "making any comment or further action".
Police officers clash with pro-democracy protesters during clearance operation on Nathan Road in Mong Kok. Photo: Sam Tsang
Twenty people would face charges of criminal contempt of court over a court-mandated clearance of the Mong Kok Occupy site in November, the Department of Justice told the High Court yesterday.
They were among 23 arrested for obstructing bailiffs executing a court order granted to a transport firm to remove barricades obstructing Argyle Street.
To avoid "double prosecution", the department would not pursue charges against them at Kowloon City Court for blocking public officers from executing their duties, the court heard.
"According to case precedents, [the arrested people] should not be charged twice for the same set of allegations," prosecutor David Leung Cheuk-yin said. He was referring to the case against 16 people who faced a preliminary hearing at Kowloon City Court on November 27.
A day later, the department told the High Court it needed more time to consider whether all 23 should be charged with criminal contempt.
The arrests were made on November 25 as Chiu Luen Public Light Bus carried out a court injunction to reopen Argyle Street on the 59th day of the Occupy Central protests.
Prosecutors yesterday dropped a contempt charge against one of those arrested, Cheung Tak-wing, because he was an International Associated Press journalist working at the scene.
The cases for two others were dealt with behind closed doors, so it was not known why the charges were dropped.
The department would apply to start the criminal contempt proceedings in 28 days. High Court judge Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming said the court would then decide whether it was justifiable to proceed.
Another of the defendants, lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, complained that upon the prosecution's decision, Kowloon City Court should have immediately lifted the bail conditions on the 16 people, including himself, that barred them from setting foot in a specified area of Mong Kok.
"It is … [David] Leung and the secretary for justice's responsibility to inform the court that the bail conditions are no longer necessary," he said.
A shopper munches on a snack as one of the city's biggest retail fairs comes to an end in Victoria Park yesterday. Photo: Sam Tsang
Last-minute bargain hunters helped push total takings past HK$900 million as the curtain went down on one of the city's biggest annual retail fairs yesterday.
Sales at the 49th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo were up 15 per cent on the year before, the organiser, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, said.
The increase came despite the association's concerns about the effect of the pro-democracy Occupy Central movement, which was still blockading a stretch of Yee Wo Street, near the fair's venue at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay, when the expo kicked off on December 13.
CMA president Eddy Li Sau-hung said the cool temperatures this winter had also failed to dampen the enthusiasm of shoppers for the 24-day retail showcase, which involved more than 400 companies.
Yesterday, shoppers pushed trolleys and suitcases down the lines of booths, buying everything from groceries and cooking utensils to winter clothes.
The crowd on the last day of the 49th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo Fair at Victoria Park. Photo: Sam Tsang
A teacher said some health products were priced so cheaply that she bought a year's supply. "I came a few days ago and bought some calcium supplements for my son. But those are not enough for a year," she said.
"I want to buy more so they can last until next year's expo."
Another shopper said she spent HK$1,000 on instant noodles, dried seafood and other snacks yesterday.
On the first day of the fair, exhibitors sold three air conditioners at HK$1 each, briefly sparking chaos. But at the closing yesterday, some shoppers complained the promotions that exhibitors offered did not represent huge bargains.
Vendors, on their part, said they had seen better sales in this year's expo, although some noted a drop in the number of mainland visitors.
For the traders, the expo was not just a chance to make cash from Christmas shoppers but also a marketing opportunity.
"It's a good platform to promote our products," David Cheuk, manager of a company selling baby health products, said.
2014 Miss Exhibition Pageant Winner Elizabeth Ma (centre), 1st runner up Daisy Cheung (right) and Wayii Cheng (left) poses for photographer on The 49th Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. Photo: Sam TsangTung Chun, a popular manufacturer of soy sauce and other condiments, sold out some of its products at the fair, according to Mia Li Ka-man, its assistant sales manager.
She said the company's sales rose about 20 per cent this year from a year ago despite the fewer numbers of mainlanders, a big-spending staple of the expo in years past.
"Tourists from the mainland have decreased this year, which could be because of the political situation in Hong Kong," Li said.
Chen Kwan-fong, deputy manager of Safewell, a manufacturer of safes, said its sales at this year's event were up 15 per cent. "We offered some of our products at half price. We have achieved our goal for this year."
Police clear the Occupy site in Causeway Bay on December 15. The report contains a 133-page timeline to elaborate on events during the August-December period. Photo: Sam Tsang
The government aims to deliver “a fair, just, transparent and competitive proposal” for selecting the city’s leader by popular ballot in 2017, according to its report on public sentiment in Hong Kong from August 31 to December last year.
The report will be submitted to the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council today.
The Chinese version of the document, called “Report on the Recent Community and Political Situation in Hong Kong”, consists of 155 pages. The 18-page main text includes a summary of “important events related to constitutional development” and “relevant opinion polls” from August 31 to December 15 last year.
On August 31, the national legislature ruled that while Hong Kong could elect its chief executive by “one man, one vote” in 2017, it must choose from a list of two or three candidates nominated by half of the 1,200-strong nominating committee’s members.
Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said the report had distorted the demands of Hongkongers for genuine democracy. Photo: Dickson Lee
The decision triggered the 79-day Occupy Central civil disobedience movement in September, which ended on December 15 as police cleared the last occupation site in Causeway Bay.
A government spokesman said that the report “reflects truthfully the events related to constitutional development” from August 31 to December 15.
It was also made “outside the ‘five-step’ constitutional process” of the electoral reform to achieve universal suffrage for the chief executive election in 2017, the spokesman added, meaning that the central government is not constitutionally obliged to respond.
Pan-democrats said the report had distorted the demands of Hongkongers for genuine democracy and reiterated that they would veto the reform proposal based on the stringent framework laid down by Beijing.
“It is really a public sentiment report with no sentiment at all, as it failed to include the strong sentiments for real democracy and the sentiments against the decisions made by the National People’s Congress,” said Labour Party chairman Lee Cheuk-yan.
The report says police used tear gas in Admiralty and Central repeatedly in an attempt to disperse crowds on September 28. Photo: Sam Tsang
During the 79-day Occupy civil disobedience movement, the police were strongly criticised by student activists and pan-democrats for using tear gas on protesters on September 28, and for seven officers’ alleged attack on protester Ken Tsang Kin-chiu on October 14.
Those two episodes were included in the report.
On the use of tear gas, the report states that after police “appealed to the participants of the unlawful assembly to leave in a peaceful and orderly manner … scores of protesters assembled in Admiralty, occupied the roads, charged police cordon lines, and resulted in repeated large-scale scuffles with the police. The police used tear gas in Admiralty and Central repeatedly in an attempt to disperse the crowds.”
On Tsang’s alleged attack, it states: “On the evening of October 14, scores of protesters suddenly ran onto Lung Wo Road. The police took action to disperse the participants of the unlawful assembly and remove the barriers. During the operation, some police officers were said to be suspected of using excessive force. The police set up a designated special investigation team to investigate the case.”
The main text of the report is followed by two annexes: the national legislature’s decision, and a 133-page detailed timeline to elaborate on events during the August-December period.
The report was uploaded to the government’s website, along with two appendices. The first appendix contains four volumes of statements made by various groups, while the second details three volumes of opinion polls on political reform conducted by several organisations.
The report includes a disclaimer in its opening chapter, stating that the document “has covered all categories of opinions to the best of our knowledge, though we cannot guarantee that opinions ever expressed by each and every group or person are included.”
And since it is “a collection of materials in the public domain”, and the government “has not undertaken any independent investigation to verify the accuracy of such materials … [it] shall not be held responsible if any person, in using this report, incurs any legal liability,” it reads.
Details of an alleged police assault on the Civic Party's Ken Tsang were included in the report. Photo: Jonathan Wong
A spokesman for the HKMAO acknowledged that it was “appropriate” for the chief executive to report to the central government “on Hong Kong’s relevant situations based on the responsibility he bears according to the Basic Law”.
The spokesman said: “The office has noticed the development and changes in situations in the Hong Kong SAR, and the central government understands the views of different sectors in Hong Kong regarding the issue of constitutional development.”
He added that the national legislature’s decision on August 31 last year is conducive to national interests and Hong Kong’s prosperity, and “its legal effect is undoubtable”.
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 07 January, 2015, 4:34am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 07 January, 2015, 4:34am
Time for instigators of Occupy to face the music
Michael Chugani
Leung Chun-ying meets the people in 2013. Photo: David Wong
Political persecution or justice being seen to be done? This is what Hongkongers will be asking as the authorities start arresting chief instigators of the Occupy Central movement. Police have contacted dozens so far, including legislators, academics, student leaders and a media tycoon. Many will face far more serious accusations than just illegal assembly. Already, there is predictable talk that charging them with instigating and aiding an unlawful assembly amounts to white terror. But is charging the Occupy instigators with more than just illegal assembly political persecution, or are the police simply doing their job? We shall leave that to the courts. But we'll say this: what society would let citizens break the law and then choose the crime they want to be charged with?
C.Y. must not let thugs shut down town-hall meetings
What are we fighting for - democracy or anarchy? No, Public Eye is not being flippant. There is nothing flippant about the chief executive cancelling his yearly meet-the-people sessions for fear he would be shouted down in the name of democracy. Those who deny others their say are not champions of democracy; they are frauds. No matter how much some people loathe Leung Chun-ying, he is still the man who must make policy decisions for all Hongkongers. Nothing beats town-hall-style meetings before such decisions are made. But it is a virtual certainty that phoney democrats will drown him out and provoke scuffles with the police in the aftermath of the Occupy protests. That is why the government has cancelled his meet-the-people sessions. Those who use triad tactics to shut up political opponents are an insult to democracy. Our advice to Leung is this: do not be a coward. Go out and face them. Expose them for what they are.
Talk of HK blacklist on a Hongkonger is deluded
Without a doubt, student leader Eason Chung Yiu-wah is on a mainland travel blacklist. He was one of three student leaders prevented from boarding a plane to Beijing in November. But on a Hong Kong blacklist? Chung told the media he was initially stopped from returning to Hong Kong from Taiwan, and overheard airline officers mention a blacklist. Newspapers, television and radio carried his blacklist claim without asking this no-brainer question: You're a Hongkonger, for goodness' sake, how can the government blacklist you from entering Hong Kong? If Chung was on a no-fly list, which we doubt, he would not have been allowed to fly to Taipei. If he was on a Hong Kong blacklist, he would not have been allowed to visit Taiwan as he wouldn't have been able to return home. Even if the Hong Kong government had revoked his travel document while he was in Taiwan, which it did not, he still would have the right to return. The Taiwanese would have deported him in any case if he overstayed his visa. Think please, everyone.
Michael Chugani is a columnist and television show host. [email protected]
All 249 protesters arrested on December 11 (above), the last day of the Occupy Central camp in Admiralty, were released unconditionally the morning after. Most of them had refused bail. Photo: Sam Tsang
A former member of the police watchdog has raised questions about the enforcement of bail on suspects, saying non-essential use of the power may undermine personal freedom.
The issue has gained relevance in the past few months as a number of democracy activists arrested for taking part in illegal assemblies have refused bail, instead telling the police to either press charges or let them go.
Chan Shu-hung
People placed on bail had to constantly report back to police, but making them do so without knowing when they would be re-arrested or charged "usurped personal freedoms", said Eric Cheung Tat-ming, who recently quit the Independent Police Complaints Council after six years of service.
In the first place, it was unnecessary to arrest a person and then grant bail if officers were unclear when their investigation would end, he said.
Cheung, who also teaches law at the University of Hong Kong, said it was possible that some frontline officers did not fully understand internal protocols for handling bail.
"If you have his address, know where he comes from and don't know when the probe will be over, you can release him unconditionally," the legal scholar told a radio programme. "You can clarify to him that the investigation is not over and that you may make an arrest in the future."
All 249 protesters arrested on December 11, the last day of the Occupy Central camp in Admiralty, were released unconditionally the morning after. Most of them had refused bail.
A police spokesman said the force followed established procedures when conducting arrests and granting bail.
"If police need more time for an investigation, the arrestee will be granted bail," she said. "When they report back, police will decide on whether to extend bail or release the suspect depending on the progress of the investigation."
Meanwhile, another former council member, Christine Fang Meng-sang, described as disproportionate the placing of a 14-year-old girl under a child protection order. The girl allegedly drew on a wall near government headquarters in Admiralty on December 23. Fang said that only in very serious cases would a child be subject to such an order and be taken into a juvenile home.
Three weeks after the clearance of the Occupy protests, the police are hunting the key figures involved. Dozens of pan-democrats are being told to report to police headquarters, where they are expected to be arrested. Controversial as they are, the cases are a test for Hong Kong's rule of law. It is imperative that they be handled fairly and in accordance with the law. Legal consequences were to be expected when students and pan-democrats pushed ahead with the civil disobedience campaign in an attempt to pressure Beijing to grant the city greater democracy. As soon as the last patch of the street blockades was cleared, the police chief pledged to complete investigations in three months and bring the key players to justice. It should therefore come as no surprise if the activists are arrested, charged and tried in court eventually.
It may be tempting to brand the police action as political retribution. No arrests were made when dozens turned themselves in to the police following the Mong Kok clearance in November. But the truth is that arrests and prosecutions are always scripted as part of the campaign. The activists even argue that surrender is in line with the spirit of the rule of law. If those who have broken the law are prepared to be held accountable for their actions, it makes no sense to criticise the police when they are merely pursuing the cases according to the law. So far there is no evidence to suggest political considerations are involved. The arrests are within expectations.
That said, the cases are highly controversial, not only because they involve big names in the pan-democratic camp, but also politically sensitive issues such as public order, unlawful assembly and instigation. The process will no doubt be closely watched at home and abroad.
Whoever breaks the law should be ready to face the legal consequences. The question is whether the proceedings are fair and just. Hong Kong prides itself as a place with rule of law. The Occupy cases will be a litmus test.
Occupy co-founder Benny Tai and student leader Lester Shum rejected the findings of a government report on public sentiment during pro-democracy protests. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Occupy Central leaders anticipate another round of mass pro-democracy protests to be triggered when Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor launches the latest consultation on political reform today, saying they expected it to produce a conservative final proposal.
Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting said that based on the government report released yesterday about the 79-day protests which ended on December 15, he expected officials would not go beyond the framework set by Beijing for the city’s universal suffrage in 2017.
“Probably the report reflects the way the government is going to handle the consultation on political reform,” Tai told an RTHK radio programme this morning.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam arrives at Legco ready to announce the second round of public consultation on political reform. Photo: David Wong
“The government cannot take a bigger role in the question of political reform … In the end the power to make decisions is given to the central government.”
Student leader Lester Shum, speaking on the same show, said he expected protests when a final proposal on political reform was tabled to the Legislative Council.
Shum said the consultation would have little meaning if it followed the National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s framework. “No matter if it is two rounds or 200 rounds of consultation, there is little meaning because that would not reflect Hongkongers’ wish for democracy,” he said.
Shum added however, that he and other student activists did not have any plan to block the consultation. Tai and Shum said the government’s public sentiment report failed to address key issues, saying it offered no analysis of Hongkongers’ views on democracy, or the Occupy protests.
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam arrives at Legco ready to announce the second round of public consultation on political reform. Photo: David Wong
Shum likened the report to a “newspaper cutting homework” by a primary school pupil while Tai said printing it was a waste of paper.
Shum said the report’s conclusion – that it is the “common aspiration” of Hongkongers to have universal suffrage in 2017 “as scheduled and strictly in accordance with the Basic Law and the NPCSC’s decisions” – was wrong.
“If it was really Hong Kong people’s common aspiration to implement universal suffrage within the framework laid down by the NPCSC, then the Occupy Central protests chronicled in the report would not have happened,” he said.
Tai said the report was not really intended to investigate what Hongkongers think about political reform, but was merely an expedient move by the government to buy time at the height of the Occupy protests.
Tai said he expected the final proposal on political reform to be rejected by pan-democrat lawmakers and fail to pass Legco.
Student leader Lester Shum expects protests when a final proposal on political reform is tabled to Legco. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Meanwhile, a Hong Kong delegate to the National People’s Congress, Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, praised the public sentiment report as "balanced" and "encompassing all events big and small".
She said the community should now discuss constitutional reform in a "pragmatic" manner.
"We need to think about whether we will be better off having universal suffrage and moving one step forward, or not having it," she said. "We should stop only looking at what is the most ideal."
She said the city would face a gloomy future and be left behind by neighbouring competing economies if it continues to be dragged down by arguments and civil disobedience.
The South China Morning Post has learned that the proposal to be unveiled today would impose a cap on the number of recommendations the 2017 chief executive election hopefuls can get to prevent the scenario of an aspirant getting support from an absolute majority of committee members, which would make it impossible for any other challenger to become a candidate.
Hopefuls who obtain enough nominations move on to the committee’s internal vote that decides the final slate of two or three hopefuls the public can choose from. In February 2002, then chief executive Tung Chee-hwa was returned unopposed for a second term after securing nominations from 714 members of a 796-strong Election Committee.
The minimum number of nominations was set at 100, so no one else was able to vie for the post. The same proportion – 12.5 per cent – was applied to the 1,193-strong committee for the 2012 chief executive ballot.
It is understood that Hongkongers will be asked in the latest consultation on whether to retain that entry threshold or to lower it. Beijing has said that only two or three people who secure support from at least half of the committee can go forward to the popular vote in 2017.
Pan-democrats say this would screen out their candidate and they have vowed to veto any government proposal based on that framework.
The consultation document is not expected to put forward proposals on the composition of the committee or on taking into account blank ballot papers.
Re: Hong Kong Students indefinite hunger strike secrets revealed
Hong Kong begins second consultation on electoral reform
Compromise that lets voters reject candidates who in all probability will be pro-Beijing draws positive response from an ex-mainland official
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam advises pan-democratic lawmakers yesterday against snubbing the government's consultation. Photo: David Wong
A former senior mainland official in charge of Hong Kong affairs says he is open to discussion on the idea of allowing residents to veto all candidates in the 2017 chief executive poll, amid concerns that the field would be favourable to Beijing.
The veto option, suggested by a Basic Law expert, could be a topic for debate in the city's second consultation on electoral reform, Chen Zuoer, former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, said.
It is hoped the compromise proposal will break a political impasse over Beijing's restriction of the ballot field to two or three nominees, as it gives voters a chance to express dissatisfaction with those candidates - to be chosen by a panel likely to be dominated by Beijing loyalists.
The stringent framework has led pan-democrats to threaten a boycott of the two-month consultation, and Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor urged them yesterday against opting out of the debate.
"Any person refusing to take part in the consultation, or even vowing to veto any constitutional development proposal … is tantamount to depriving five million eligible voters of their opportunity to elect the chief executive by universal suffrage," Lam said as she launched the exercise.
In the consultation, Hongkongers are asked if a hopeful for the city's top job must secure 100 or 150 recommendations from a 1,200-strong nominating committee before moving on to the panel's internal vote that decides the final slate for the public "one man, one vote" election.
Residents can also have a say on whether to cap the number of recommendations per hopeful.
Yellow umbrellas reflect pan-democrats' dissatisfaction. Photo: Sam Tsang
The option to veto all candidates applies at the stage of the public vote, where the election will be declared void if more than half of voters choose "none of the above" on their ballot papers. The idea, dubbed the "blank votes proposal", was floated by Basic Law Committee member Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee.
Chen Zuoer said in Beijing that the idea "can be discussed" during the latest consultation.
READ MORE: Wake me up when you're finished, Carrie: HK security chief dozes off during Lam's speech
Albert Chen had given the government a detailed proposal, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen said, adding that it was worth considering.
But another Basic Law Committee member, Rao Geping, said 51 out of 91 states that practised universal suffrage considered blank votes invalid. "Universal suffrage is for voters to voice their preferences," Rao said. "Blank votes cannot express voters' views on the candidates. I don't think it is a valid way of voting."
The proposal also drew a lukewarm response from pan-democrats upset about the election criteria. That poses a nearimpossible task for the government to produce a proposal that must necessarily win two-thirds support in the legislature.
Tam said the Beijing-loyalist camp gave positive feedback last year about widening the nominating committee's voter base, "but after the Occupy campaign, this atmosphere has vanished".
Gary Cheung, Adrian Wan, Joyce Ng, Stuart Lau and Tony Cheung
Student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung confronted Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor in a rare face-to-face encounter this morning, as they passed each other in the corridor of a radio station’s offices.
Surrounded by journalists, Wong stopped Lam in the hallway at Commercial Radio and tried to give her a copy of the liberal studies’ assessment criteria. That was a reference to his criticism that the government’s public sentiment report released this week did not even qualify as "a piece of liberal studies homework" because it had distorted public demands for genuine democracy.
But Lam stuck rigidly to the government line during a brief exchange:
Wong: Secretary [Carrie] Lam Cheng [Yuet-ngor], I want to give you a report. Since you wrote a ‘public sentiment newspaper cutting’, I have especially [prepared a copy] of the assessment criteria for the secondary school liberal studies subject homework.
It says [student would score low points if they] "show a low level of competence in reflection on the enquiry", "communicate and analyse the findings from limited perspectives related to the issue concerned", and "with less than appropriate methods". I think this set of liberal students assessment criteria for secondary school pupils’ [homework] is a good reference for your "public sentiment newspaper cutting". I hope you can take this.
I also want to ask why did you conclude in the report that it is a common aspiration among Hongkongers to implement a system of universal suffrage based on the National People’s Congress’s 831 (August 31) framework? Do you think this is distorting facts?
Lam: The public sentiment report was compiled purely, I think you can also remember, because in preparing for the dialogue with the Federation of Students’ (in October), we have heard many people and students representatives suggesting that since something had happened after a decision was made on August 31, should we file a report to the central government? That was the suggestion at that time ...
Wong: But I would like to ask …
Lam: At that time I already said the public sentiment report will be an objective and comprehensive report, it is not part of the five-step constitutional process.
Wong: But I still like to ask is it true to say that "it is a common aspiration among Hongkongers to implement a system of universal suffrage based on the National People’s Congress’s 831 (August 31) framework?”
As Lam appeared reluctant to answer, a man believed to be a member of Commercial Radio staff said: “I’m sorry but our show is about to start.”
It appeared that Lam took Wong’s copy of the “Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination 2016 – Liberal Studies: School-based Assessment Teachers’ Handbook”.
The government's report was released on Tuesday to sum up the series of events and protests that took place in Hong Kong from August to December after Beijing laid down a stringent framework for the city’s political reform.
Wong later said on Scholarism’s Facebook page that if pupils do their "Independent Enquiry Study” homework the same way officials wrote the public sentiment report, they could only score up to 3 points on a scale of 9.
Wong and Lam were at Commercial Radio to appear as guests – separately – on a political affairs radio programme.
On air, Wong said that any proposal that follows Beijing’s restrictive electoral framework – including the consultation document proposed by the government yesterday – should be rejected.
Wong said the document’s proposed arrangements for nominating candidates in the 2017 chief executive election would not offer any real choice.
The government suggests the threshold for would-be candidates to enter the nomination stage be lowered. The support they need from nominating committee members would be reduced from 150 to 100. But candidates would still need 600 nominations to stand as candidates for the final public vote.
Wong said that under this design many candidates, such as pan-democrats and even possibly some moderate pro-establishment politicians, would be screened from the final race.
“It is meaningless to be nominated but not allowed to go to the final voting stage. [It is like] allowing people to book seats at a restaurant but not allowing them to enter to eat,” he said.
Wong said the best option now was for the government to cancel the current consultation and restart the process of constitutional reform from step one.
He said that if Hongkongers and the Legislative Council accept the proposal as it stands, the current design will last forever and there will not be any further change.
Officials have said the election methods for chief executive can be fine-tuned after universal suffrage is implemented for the 2017 poll.
“The implementation of universal suffrage is seen as a ultimate goal, as mentioned in the Basic Law, so once it is achieved the government will think it has finished its historical mission and won’t make any further change to it afterwards,” Wong said.
Meanwhile, Lam defended the government’s decision to focus on the nomination procedure for 2017, rather than shaking up the composition of the nominating committee.
Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Lam elaborated on a point made by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen yesterday, that officials had become “pragmatic” as positive sentiment from the pro-establishment camp about widening the nominating committee’s voter base had “vanished” after the 79-day Occupy Central movement.
Lam said that since Beijing ruled on August 31 last year that the nominating committee would be modelled on the current 1,200-member Election Committee, which encompass 38 subsectors, “there must be some subsectors which are willing to give up their seats, so that we can create new subsectors … This is difficult, and from the response we gathered from different political parties, we are not optimistic.”
Lam indicated that she was unlikely to resign even if the reform package is vetoed this summer. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Discussions were held last year on whether the agricultural and fisheries subsector could give up some of its 60 seats to form a new subsector to represent women and youth, but the subsector’s lawmaker Steven Ho Chun-yin has suggested that his constituents shouldn’t be the only group making the sacrifice.
The insurance and financial services industries had also explored proposals to expand their electoral base.
Asked whether the government had failed to do its best to make the most democratic proposals based on Beijing’s stringent framework, Lam said: “After thinking about the issues back and forth, we believe that the focus should be on the nominating procedure, and we hope the pan-democrats [won’t] boycott the consultation before it even starts.”
The much-debated idea that the election would be invalidated if the majority of Hongkongers left their ballot papers blank was also left out of the consultation paper. Tam, however, said yesterday that the administration would “positively follow up” the idea – a view echoed by former mainland official in charge of Hong Kong affairs, Chen Zuoer.
Yet, Lam appeared less positive than her colleague this morning. “The key is whether creative proposals could secure the pan-democrats’ support,” she said. “Otherwise the efforts would be all in vain if the pan-democrats are still vetoing the reform package”.
Pan-democrat lawmakers have refused to accept the national legislature’s decision last year, which ruled that while Hong Kong can elect its leader by “one man, one vote” in 2017, it must choose from two or three candidates backed by half of a 1,200-strong nominating committee.
The Basic Law’s Article 50 states that if Legco refuses to pass an “important bill” introduced by the government, the chief executive may dissolve the council.
Speaking on the Commercial Radio programme, Lam said the stipulation does not apply to the political reform because the reform package would be a resolution that seeks to amend the Basic Law, while “important bill” refers to an amendment to local legislation.
Lam also indicated that she was unlikely to resign even if the reform package is vetoed this summer.
“This is a rather pessimistic idea,” Lam said. “I have said that the challenge is quite big to join the [current] cabinet, as I wish to solve various issues in my five-year term. Political reform is one, but poverty alleviation and population policy are my responsibilities too.”
Tam meanwhile, said this morning that the central government had become more cautious over the city’s political reform following Occupy protests. He said this left “very little room” to make major changes to the government’s proposals.
“After what has happened in the past few months, including the Occupy Central protests, the central government has become more cautious and conservative,” he said on a DBC radio show.
Occupy Central leaders Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Dr Chan Kin-man and Benny Tai Yiu-ting have been told to visit Wan Chai police station later this month. Photo: May Tse
Police have set dates for the arrests of the three co-founders of the Occupy Central protest movement and pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying as efforts continue to bring those behind last year's road blockades before the courts
Occupy's Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Dr Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming have been told by police to attend Wan Chai police station between January 22 and 24, Chan said. Lai, founder of the Chinese-language Apple Daily, meets police on January 21.
The four are the latest in a series of participants in the 79-day protests asked to attend police stations later this month.
The visits would result in arrest, Chan said. He expects the trio to be charged with instigating, participating in and organising an unlawful assembly.
The three Occupy leaders and several other pan-democrats made a high-profile surrender to police last month.
They were not arrested and were told police needed more time to gather evidence.
"We want to reiterate that we aimed to fight for democracy and justice through the civil disobedience campaign," said Chan. "We do not fear prosecution."
Civic Party leader Alan Leong Kah-kit, the Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan and the League of Social Democrats' "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung are among the sit-in participants to receive similar instructions from the police this week.
Tens of thousands of people joined the sit-ins, but after the last site in Causeway Bay was cleared on December 15, police commissioner Andy Tsang Wai-hung pledged to focus on the "principal instigators".
He said the investigation would be completed within three months.
Meanwhile, 14 people charged with obstructing bailiffs during the Mong Kok sit-in had the charge withdrawn in Kowloon City Court yesterday. Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen awarded costs to them.
Financial Secretary John Tsang blamed Occupy in part for the dimmer economic outlook.
Help for businesses hit by the recently concluded Occupy Central democracy movement will feature in Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's budget speech next month.
Tsang gave this assurance at a Chinese General Chamber of Commerce forum amid a conservative outlook from both the government and analysts on the city's economy in the aftermath of the 79-day mass protests and on top of global uncertainty.
Without elaborating on the measures the government might adopt to improve prospects, Tsang said yesterday: "We must compensate in a timely way by minimising the negative impacts on Hong Kong's economy in the mid-term and in the long run."
Businesses have complained of falling incomes despite official figures indicating the contrary - including the government's October retail sales statistics; the Tourism Board's visitor numbers in the same month; and the amount of property transactions in the first 10 months of last year.
Tsang blamed Occupy in part for the dimmer economic outlook. "The movement has undermined the city's rule of law in the past two months," he said.
"We all agree that rule of law is at the core of Hong Kong's competitiveness. It is also the city's foundation as an international financial centre.
"Specific recommendations will be raised in the budget to help businesses affected by Occupy, and to rebuild the confidence of overseas businesses and tourists in Hong Kong."
Ahead of Tsang's budget speech on February 25, Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, announced the reorganisation of his assets yesterday, adding to uncertainty over the city's future.
The reorganisation of Cheung Kong and Hutchison Whampoa effectively meant relocating the registrations of the companies, though Li himself denied this.
Tsang said the city's growth, estimated at 2.2 per cent, in the past year had been mild - lower than the 2.9 per cent in 2013 and the average of 4.5 per cent over the past 10 years.
While the economy was resilient and able to adapt, he said, financial uncertainties elsewhere would affect the appetite for local consumption and investment.
HSBC economist John Zhu said income growth had been particularly low in recent quarters, more or less stagnating in real terms.
"There may also be little help [from] external demand, which means 2015 will likely be a challenging year growth-wise," he wrote in an analysis.
Zhu said, given that stronger US demand was being offset by very weak growth in the euro area and slowing momentum in mainland China, HSBC expected GDP growth of 2.8 per cent for Hong Kong this year.
His analysis also cited the government's insufficient investment in research and development, which limited growth.
The bank expected the US Federal Reserve to tighten monetary conditions by the third quarter, which could weigh on the local housing market. But Zhu also said Hong Kong still attracted mainland visitors, who make up over three-quarters of arrivals.
Occupy Central 'not reason behind Li Ka-shing's reorganisation of business empire'
Director of Husky Energy unit also denies changes meangroup is getting out of HK
Frederick Ma says Li Ka-shing's reorganisation of his business empire has nothing to do with Occupy Central. Photo: Sam Tsang
Billionaire Li Ka-shing's reorganisation of his business empire has nothing to do with Occupy Central, a director of one of his firms insists.
Frederick Ma Si-hang, a former commerce minister and a director of Li's Canadian oil and gas unit Husky Energy, also denied the shake-up represented the redomiciling of the empire to the tax-friendly Cayman Islands.
Li shocked the city on Friday by announcing that non-property assets of his Cheung Kong (Holdings) and its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa would be injected into a new company, Caymans-incorporated CK Hutchison Holdings. Property interests will go into another new Caymans-registered entity, Cheung Kong Property Holdings, which will seek a separate listing.
The move followed months of speculation that Li, the plastic-flower factory boss turned property magnate known as "superman" for his investing prowess, was losing interest in his hometown amid political uncertainty.
"An arrangement like this is not done in one day or two. It needs a long time for planning," Ma said. "I believe they have thought about it for a long time before making the move, and it is not so much related to Occupy Central." Li did not comment directly on the aims of the Occupy protesters during the 79-day street blockade but did urge the protesters to go home to avoid any "regrets".
The tycoon said on Friday that more than 75 per cent of companies listed in Hong Kong in the past decade were incorporated in the Caymans, including Chinese state-owned enterprises.
Ma agreed that the changes did not amount to moving the empire's domicile.
The announcement was made after the close of the Hong Kong bourse. But US depository receipts - through which American investors can trade in the two companies' securities - rose 10 per cent on Friday evening.
Alex Wong, an asset manager at Ample Finance Group, expects the two firms' share prices to rise tomorrow.
"Separating property and conglomerate businesses makes [investment choices] clearer for investors with different preferences. It also helps unlock the value, especially of Cheung Kong's property business," Wong said.
BNP Paribas analyst Wee Liat Lee said the removal of Cheung Kong's layered holding structure would help narrow a deep 33 per cent discount to net asset value in the valuation of the company.
Kevin Yam says residents can be put off by direct political approaches. Photo: David Wong
Taking the democracy message into communities by helping residents improve the place they live could be a "third way" to keep the Occupy Central spirit alive, members of a new group say.
Since the Occupy road blockades ended last month, protesters and pan-democrat politicians have spoken of garnering support on the streets by setting up booths or exhibitions as an alternative to protests.
However, a group of activists and residents in Mei Foo say a less direct approach is needed as residents may be turned off by political parties and leaders may lack connections on the ground.
"It doesn't quite work if you begin the conversation straightaway with serious topics such as democracy, justice and universal suffrage," said group member Kevin Yam Kin-fung.
Yam, a solicitor, shot to prominence last year when he helped initiate a vote of no confidence that unseated former Law Society president Ambrose Lam San-keung after Lam praised controversial Beijing initiatives on Hong Kong affairs.
He chose to follow that up by forming a community group with about a dozen other residents of the middle-class community. The group will mix spreading the word on democracy with addressing issues such as the local environment and hygiene.
"We are not opposing the territory-wide campaign," Yam said. "But they might lack local connections or not know exactly what the residents care about."
Fellow member Peter Tsang Chi-ming, who won a 2008 legal battle with the management of the Mei Foo Sun Chuen estate over the right to keep his golden retriever, said he would use local connections to help the group.
Another member, teacher Kenny Poon Kwan-yin, 27, plans to convey the democracy message to a younger generation by offering drama lessons.
"Some ancient Greek drama actually talks about democracy and civil disobedience movements, and the children could learn from that," Poon said.
The group does not plan to put up candidates for Sham Shui Po District Council at November's election, but may back pan-democrats it feels are suitable.
Yam hopes democracy supporters in other districts will set up similar groups to spread the "umbrella movement" spirit.
Christopher Doyle says he doesn't want to make one film every five years; he wants to make five films a year. Photo: K.Y. Cheng
Filmmaking can be democratic and not dictated by tycoons and auteurs, according to Christopher Doyle, who is calling for public support for his latest project, set against the backdrop of the Occupy protests.
The award-winning cinematographer and his team aim to raise US$100,000 on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to complete Hong Kong Trilogy, a three-part, 90-minute feature about the city, "told by three generations of Hongkongers amid a sociopolitical vibe reflected by the protests also known as the umbrella movement".
Initially a 30-minute short named Hong Kong 2014: Education for All, the film, directed by Doyle and part of the short film series Beautiful 2014, premiered at the Hong Kong International Film Festival last year. The film was also available on Youku.com on the mainland and had 1.5 million hits.
Doyle later renamed it Preschooled. "So we move on to make a second and a third film," Doyle said, in a video introducing his project.
Preoccupied will be about young people in their 20s and Preposterous is about those aged in their 50s or above.
"Then Occupy Central came along and gave the whole project much more sociopolitical reference," said the filmmaker, who is from Sydney.
Doyle was spotted filming among the tents erected in Harcourt Road, Admiralty, during the 79-day protests. But he did not respond to inquiries about what he was filming at the time.
On Kickstarter, the project is branded a "democratic approach to film" as funding is scarce for experimental projects, and public support will be key.
As of yesterday, 586 backers had pledged US$63,944 for the project on Kickstarter. There are 25 days to go before the fundraising period is over.
Doyle said he had not been working in Hong Kong for a while and the project brought him back to the place where he made his name as a filmmaker.
The moving images he crafted for Wong Kar-wai's many films, including Chungking Express and In The Mood For Lov e, earned him world recognition, putting him in the big league of global cinema.
But in recent years Doyle has moved from cinema to art galleries, with some of his shorts being featured at Art Basel in Hong Kong last year - and in a recent interview with the Post he said he had turned down offers to film the third, fourth and fifth Harry Potter films.
"I don't want to make one film every five years like Wong Kar-wai. I want to make five films a year," he said.
He collaborated with young director Jenny Suen on short film Allergic To Art in "response" to the craze for art, inspired by Art Basel.
"You have to question the stuff you care about," Doyle said. "I want to tell the kids, don't wait for the money, wait for the ideas. Take the ideas and go somewhere with them."
Police officers arrest a young pro-democracy protester in Mong Kok occupied site on November 26, 2014. Photo: Felix Wong
The police have called off their bid to apply for a child protection order for a 14-year-old boy arrested during the Occupy Mong Kok clearance operation, weeks after their attempts to separate another underage activist from her legal custodian were called into question.
The teenage boy, whose name cannot be revealed due to his age, was not required to appear at Fanling Court yesterday morning after his solicitor Patricia Ho wrote to the magistracy to call off the originally scheduled hearing.
This came after the Department of Justice announced last week that it had no interest in pressing a charge of contempt of court against the boy.
A care and protection order is usually used for children in dangerous circumstances, such as those facing the risk of drug addiction or abuse. It could lead to the removal of the boy from his parents' care.
"I welcome the decision … because if it's dragged on it would only cost more of my time and money," the boy told the South China Morning Post. He called the order a "scare tactic" and "political prosecution".
The department said that, given the evidence and the decision to dispose of the case, "a care and protection order was no longer necessary and hence it was withdrawn".
While welcoming the withdrawal, the solicitor also berated the department for even considering seeking the order: "All along I saw no basis in the application."
The police have recently come under intense fire after they attempted to seek the same type of order, usually used on delinquent teens, for a 14-year-old who has come to be known as the "chalk girl".
The minor, also represented by Ho, gained her moniker by chalking a flower on the so-called Lennon Wall, where protesters posted colourful memos with uplifting messages during the 79-day pro-democracy movement in Admiralty.
She was detained for two days at a children's home late last month, after her bail application was turned down at Tuen Mun Court. The High Court later overturned the lower court's ruling, allowing her to be released on bail.
The boy's order came a month prior to the chalk girl, though it received little attention when he was brought before Eastern Court two days after his arrest.
Ho, who previously called the ruling "disproportionate", noted that both youngsters were never charged.
But a document police gave the boy indicated that he might yet face a lesser charge of obstructing a public officer.
