HONG KONG: Opposition parties have gone too far by elevating their self-declared "referendum" on political reform into a "civic uprising", says Elsie Leung, vice chairman of the Committee for the Basic Law. The word "uprising", she said, is inflammatory and tantamount to declaring a revolution.

The Civic Party and the League of Social Democrats' "referendum" movement is false because it lacks any provision under the constitution, Leung added.

Speaking to China Daily in an exclusive interview, she said only a sovereign power has the constitutional authority to carry out a referendum exercise.

She noted that the opposition's aim is to have people declare their support for dual universal suffrage in 2012 by casting ballots in the by-elections precipitated by the resignation of five opposition legislators.

"They are misleading the people by making them believe they have the power to decide such an important issue as constitutional development in Hong Kong through a precipitate ballot. If ever there is a referendum, it would be decided by 1.3 billion people of the entire country rather than the 7 million people of Hong Kong," Leung said.

She said it is meaningless for the opposition lawmakers to pursue democratic progress by way of resignation.

"The legislators are elected by the people of Hong Kong to represent them in the Legislative Council. They should seek to resolve any matters through the procedures of the legislature," she noted.

She also questioned whether the resigned opposition lawmakers could solve constitutional development matters even if they win the by-elections and are returned to the legislature. "They can't," she maintained. "If they project such an impression that they can resolve the matter after their return, they are simply misleading the people."

Leung declared she found it strange that the Civic Party, which chiefly comprises learned barristers, would join together with the League of Social Democrats to start the "referendum and uprising" campaign.

"'Uprising' has a meaning similar to revolution," she said. "It also gives the impression that they will seek to overthrow the government at all cost, including the use of violence," she observed. "The Civic Party argued that 'uprising' is only the gimmick for the adverting campaign. Yet people with political acumen should be careful not to adopt such sensational words."

As to some pro-establishment lawmakers intending to veto the funding for the by-elections, Leung, who is former Secretary for Justice, said it would not prevent the government from discharging its duty to run the by-elections.

Even if funding is disapproved, she predicted the government will have sufficient resources to run the by-elections.

Only 55 lawmakers remain after the collective resignation takes effect today. In Leung's view, the resignation will not cause serious problems to the voting system as a large majority of the motions and resolutions require only a simple majority of lawmakers present at the time of voting.

(HK Edition 01/29/2010 page1)