The opposition parties have done nothing constructive but caused a lot of damage on issues concerning the economy, quality of life and cross-boundary cooperation, not to mention the billions of dollars wasted as a result of their political stunts aimed at wrecking the SAR government's administration.

In the current Legislative Council (LegCo) election campaign, opposition candidates have tried to deny or cover up their dirty tracks by any means, but have failed. It has become a common desire of more and more Hong Kong voters to shut out those who have done nothing constructive but everything to the contrary, drawing more to support the rational and pragmatic forces with their votes on Sept 9.

During the LegCo election debate in Kowloon East on Aug 19, an independent candidate slammed the Civic Party (CP) for deceiving the public about the party's role in the notorious judicial review case against the Hong Kong section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HKZMB) project. That adventure by the CP wasted HK$8.8 billion of public funds in addition to terminating several thousand construction jobs for months. The huge sum of taxpayers' money wasted was enough to pay 8 million monthly old-age welfare allowances, popularly known as "fruit money", or to build 20,000 public housing units. At a public debate in Kowloon West, also on Aug 19, CP candidate Claudia Mo was also challenged by an independent rival over the HKZMB issue.

Another example of the CP's destructive scheming against the public interest is the judicial review case represented by its leading members that challenged the Immigration Ordinance concerning right of abode for foreign domestic helpers (FDHs). A number of candidates have pointed out in public debates that by helping FDHs win the right of abode in Hong Kong, the CP stands to gain a large number of "ironclad" votes from those grateful FDHs.

If the relevant provision of the Immigration Ordinance is ultimately declared unconstitutional by the courts, all 125,000 FDHs currently working in Hong Kong could gain permanent resident status if they stay here continuously for seven years. The total number may swell to 400,000 if they bring their families to Hong Kong after obtaining legal residency.

There is little doubt that those "naturalized" FDHs could become staunch CP supporters in future elections, all at the expense of local taxpayers, since their presence could exert tremendous pressure on public resources concerning the welfare system, competition for jobs, education, health care, public housing and population policy.

The CP of course categorically denied it had anything to do with the case and insisted it was individual party members' decision to represent the plaintiffs in the case, but many local residents remain unconvinced and have urged fellow voters to punish the CP with their votes in the upcoming LegCo election.

The CP is not the only opposition party facing the loss of LegCo seats because of its ambitions at the public's expense. The Professional Teachers' Union (PTU) has also become a target of public condemnation for its blatant threat to order a general strike by all primary and secondary school teachers and a citywide boycott of schools by more than 800,000 students if the SAR government refuses to withdraw the moral and national education (MNE) subject in those schools' curricula.

The PTU member running for a LegCo seat as a functional constituency candidate is Yee Kin-yuen, who is one of the most vocal opponents of the MNE program and who has been urging school teachers to abandon their professional responsibilities in support of the opposition stance.

A teachers' strike would not only adversely affect more than 800,000 students' normal education but also leave their parents in a very difficult situation, if they need to work and take care of their children at the same time. That is why many teachers as well as parents have strongly condemned the PTU's planned general strike.

Opposition parties have been doing great damage to Hong Kong to serve their own political interest at the public's expense and deserve heavy punishment by the voters in the LegCo election, by voting for candidates who truly love Hong Kong and work for local residents wholeheartedly.

The author is secretary-general of the Federation of Hong Kong Guangdong Community Organizations.

(HK Edition 08/29/2012 page3)