Chief Executive Donald Tsang (4th left) Tuesday attends the central committee meeting of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong at the party's headquarters. DAB Chairman Tam Yiu-chung (3rd left) assured the chief executive that he would have support in the form of all nine votes of the party. Provided to China Daily

DAB Tam offers full support and 9 votes to facilitate reform package passage

As the Legislative Council (Legco) prepares to vote on the 2012 electoral reform packages on June 23, the government has not yet secured sufficient support to ensure their passage.

The government needs at least four more votes from the democratic camp to constitute a two-thirds majority (i.e., 40 votes) to carry the packages, Chief Executive Donald Tsang told members of Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. In this connection, DAB chairman Tam Yiu-chung assured the chief executive that he would have support in the form of all nine votes of the DAB.

Tuesday night, Tsang attended the DAB central committee meeting at the party's headquarters and stayed for about one hour.

After the meeting, Tam quoted Tsang as saying that the Central Government has a very strong wish to see the passage of the packages. The Central Government has met various democratic organizations and had Qiao Xiaoyang, deputy secretary general of the National People's Congress Standing Committee offer a definition of universal suffrage with reference to the principle-based concepts of "universal" and "equal".

Tam also quoted Tsang as saying that the 2012 packages are viewed by the public as being more democratic than those of 2005.

As to the Democratic Party's counter-proposal to let all the registered voters choose the six LegCo district council constituency seats after nomination by district council members, Tsang was afraid that the counter-proposal would make supporters of the government package feel uncomfortable and cause uncertainties.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Constitutional and mainland Affairs Stephen Lam Tuesday called on the democratic camp to support the 2012 electoral reform packages after declaring that the Central Government has time and again offered positive overtures to address their concerns.

Given there is not much time before the packages are tabled for voting, the democrats should take the last opportunity to vote for the packages, he said, adding the government would try its very best to lobby each and every vote.

Separately, Democratic Party chairman Albert Ho vowed they would veto the packages in the absence of major improvements. The party will also move a motion of non-confidence in Chief Executive Donald Tsang if the electoral packages is once again vetoed.

Speaking on a radio program Tuesday morning, Lam said the democrats had no chance to communicate with Central Government officials for over two decades.

But in recent years, the Central Government has positively responded to their demands by providing universal suffrage timetables and arranging to meet Liaison Office Deputy Director Li Gang in Hong Kong.

Lam also referred to the remarks made by Qiao Xiaoyang, deputy secretary-general of the NPC Standing Committee, in Beijing on Monday.

Qiao has provided a definition of universal suffrage and made it very clear that universal suffrage shall fulfill the "universal" and "equal" principles, Lam said. As for the future of the functional constituencies, there is no final conclusion and there remain 10 years for further discussion before universal suffrage of the Legislative Council takes place in 2020.

Lam noted the Democratic Party and Alliance for Universal Suffrage have during their meetings with Li Gang proposed nomination of the six LegCo district council functional constituency seats by district council members before they are returned by all the registered voters in Hong Kong in 2012.

Such a proposal is hard to implement, he said, knowing that the pro-establishment camp has serious reservations about that.

On another radio program, Democratic Party Chairman Albert Ho said it is unacceptable that Qiao has imposed additional requirements on implementation of universal suffrage. Equally, he has not elaborated on the abolition of the functional constituency.

In case of merely minor revisions, Ho said the government should be prepared for the veto of the packages for the second time, as well as a motion of no confidence in the chief executive.

A telephone survey by One Country Two Systems Research Institute involving over 860 people between the end of May and early June said 54 percent of the respondents found the 2012 electoral proposals on the whole acceptable versus 32 percent against the proposals.

Moreover, 59 percent, as opposed to the 28 percent who disagreed, said the Legislative council should carry the packages.

China Daily

(HK Edition 06/09/2010 page1)