'OGC' is an election ploy

Scholarism, the student group formed to cheerlead the opposition's Legislative Council (LegCo) election campaign in opposition to moral and national education (MNE) in schools, has begun a three-day protest outside the SAR Government Complex. Aptly named the "Occupy Government Complex" (OGC), the gesture is meant to put more pressure on the government to withdraw MNE.

The protest however serves the opposition's LegCo election campaign more than anything else. Hong Kong residents should see clearly Scholarism's political demagoguery and not be fooled by its theatrics. Meanwhile, the introduction of the MNE subject into local schools is under way, after extensive public consultation and careful study. There is absolutely no way it should be abandoned just because the opposition parties are counting on using it to defeat the government's policy and to gain leverage for its Legco election campaign.

There are many ways in which Scholarism could present its opinions to the government, but it chose to decline an invitation to join the Committee on the Implementation of Moral and National Education, set up by the government to collect public views on the MNE program. Instead they adopted a radical approach, including publicly threatening to mount personal attacks on political parties and independent LegCo election candidates who don't support Scholarism's anti-MNE campaign.

In many countries around the world, government facilities are off limits to protest rallies. It is very rare here in Hong Kong for the government complex to be "occupied" for days. The radical activities of Scholarism show the youth group is even more confrontational than most opposition parties and its members hold scant respect for civic morals, the rule of law and public accord.

The MNE, apart from providing better knowledge about national affairs and issues, aims to endow students with an awareness of their civic responsibilities, to respect others as well as the rule of law. In this regard, the behavior of Scholarism presents a very good example of why the MNE program is needed right now.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on Aug 30.

'Black gold' still rolling in?

Chan Wai-yip, a top leader of the radical opposition party People Power (PP), spent HK$1.72 million campaigning for the 2010 Legislative Council (LegCo) by-election. That by-election took place after Chan and four other opposition lawmakers staged a collective resignation intent on forcing what they called a referendum on popular elections to challenge the government's constitutional reform plan.

The SAR government was forced to hold a by-election within three months, according to the Election Ordinance. The pro-government parties boycotted the exercise. The five opposition members - Chan and the fellow PP boss Wong Yuk-man; Legion of Social Democrats' Leung Kwok-hung, better known as "Long Hair"; and Civic Party (CP) linchpins Leung Ka-kit and Tanya Chan - were re-elected amid widespread condemnation over the wasteful expenditure of public funds.

Now it has been revealed that the five opposition politicians' spent more than HK$5 million campaigning in that election. All were recipients of sizable "donations". Chan has failed to specify who contributed to his HK$1.72 campaign spending. People may well remember the WikiLeaks revelation soon after the by-election, that Jimmy Lai, owner of the opposition camp's de facto mouthpiece Apple Daily, had "donated" more than HK$50 million over a period of two years to opposition parties and several of their "stars".

All those "donations" were handled by a US citizen who happens to be the head of the Republican Party's Hong Kong chapter. Many people believe it is quite possible that Lai's "donations" came from some secret accounts set up by US intelligence agencies to fund subversive activities in "enemy states".

The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) should investigate why Chan has been so obsessively secretive about who provided his campaign bankroll. If the EAC finds any irregularity in his by-election finance books, the ICAC should step in to dig out the truth and declare his by-election win void and Chan ineligible to seek re-election to public office.

All five opposition politicians have received suspicious "donations" and deserve to be investigated by the proper authorities. Unless their names are officially cleared, Hong Kong voters should not support them in the upcoming LegCo election.

This is an excerpted translation of a Ta Kung Pao editorial published on Aug 30.

(HK Edition 08/31/2012 page3)