March 14, 2005
By KEITH BRADSHER
The truth is "Hong Kong officials" didn’t change its interpretation of the law. The truth is they decided to follow Beijing’s interpretation without it "going through their brains" as we say in Chinese.
ONG
KONG, March 14 – Hong Kong’s new leader said today that the government
here was determined to shorten the next chief executive’s term to two
years, even as pro-democracy lawmakers voiced strong opposition, saying
the plan violated the territory’s mini-constitution.
Donald Tsang became acting chief executive on Saturday evening with
the resignation of Tung Chee-hwa, and announced then that the Hong Kong
government had changed its interpretation of the law on how long a
chief executive could serve. The next chief executive will only serve
the two years remaining in Mr. Tung’s term, even though the
mini-consitution, known as the Basic Law, only provides for chief
executives to serve full, five-year terms.
Mr. Tsang said that the Hong Kong government had reversed its
position after consulting with mainland Chinese legal authorities, but
did not do so because of any mainland "conspiracy." Electoral Committee
members are only chosen for five-year terms, Mr. Tsang said, suggesting
that the drafters of the Basic Law never intended for them to be
responsible for choosing a second chief executive if the first proved
unable to serve a full term.
"Regrettably, our previous understanding was wrong," he said. If a
lawsuit is filed to block a chief executive from serving a two-year
term, the government expects the local courts to reach a decision as
quickly as the Supreme Court acted in the United States in ruling on
the election dispute in Florida in 2000, Mr. Tsang added.
All but one of the 25 pro-democracy lawmakers in the 60-member
legislature issued a statement today denouncing the government’s
decision, saying that it represented "a blatant disregard of legal
principles and of the rule of law." Leung Kwok-hung, the only
Trotskyite member of the legislature, did not sign the statement,
saying that democracy advocates should focus on demanding that Beijing
authorities reverse their decision last April not to allow direct
elections for chief executive in 2007.
An Electoral Committee of 800 prominent citizens, mostly Beijing loyalists, chooses the chief executive here.
In a wide-ranging news conference for foreign correspondents, Mr.
Tsang also said that despite Mr. Tung’s resignation, the government
would still proceed on schedule with plans to build by 2012 a cultural
district here several times the size of the Lincoln Center, with
extensive art museums and large venues for the performing arts. But Mr.
Tsang did not address how the district would be financed; there have
been protests here against the government’s initial plan to hand over
the entire area to a single wealthy developer, who would build
apartments towers, office buildings and hotels on part of the land in
order to pay for the project.
The proposed cultural district has drawn considerable interest in
the arts communities in Europe and the United States, with the Georges
Pompidou Center of Paris and New York’s Solomon R. Guggenheim
Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art all competing to run some of
the planned museums.
Mr. Tsang dismissed speculation here that a disruptive rivalry
might emerge among ministers here vying for the post of chief
executive. He said he would emphasize continuity by keeping all
ministers in place, adding that, "There is no question of a lack of
solidarity."
Four of the most outspokenly pro-Beijing members of the current
cabinet did not show up for the news conference on Saturday evening at
which Mr. Tsang announced that he had become the acting chief
executive, choosing to remain at events in Beijing instead. Mr. Tsang
said that he had agreed with this plan in advance, and that it was not
the snub that the local news media had reported it to be.
Although widely expected to be chosen this summer as chief
executive for the next two years, Mr. Tsang took pains to emphasize
that he has not yet decided whether to run for the office.
"I must dispel the conception that I have made up my mind to run,
this is not the case," Mr. Tsang said. "My time is entirely taken up
with making sure the electoral arrangements are put in place."
Should he or any other senior officer decide to run for the post of
Chief Executive, Mr. Tsang added, they would need to resign from their
position upon declaring candidacy. Stephen Lam, the secretary for
constitutional affairs, said that the nomination period would begin in
early June.
Mr. Tsang specifically ruled out any prospect that Mr. Tung would
continue to play a role here after stepping down the way Deng Xiaoping
remained politically active in China while holding few official
positions.
"Mr. Tung is a retired, respected politician in Hong Kong, he is
also my friend and that’s it," Mr. Tsang said, before adding as an
afterthought that his predecessor has also become a vice chairman of
the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing. .
As for the pace of democratization, Mr. Tsang said the government
intends to follow through on pledges to become more participatory and
transparent.
"There is no case of going back," Mr. Tsang said. "The next stage will certainly be more democratic than what it is now."
But Mr. Tsang refused to set deadlines for moves toward universal suffrage.
"As far as the timetable, this must not be imposed by anybody," he said. "You must give us time."
Balancing demands from the Beijing authorities for continued
control with the Hong Kong people’s desire for self-governance will
remain a challenge to Mr. Tsang as it was for his predecessor. One of
the most unpopular initiatives pushed by Mr. Tung was an
anti-subversion law backed by Beijing that helped inspire a protest
march of half a million residents in July 2003.
Walking a verbal tightrope, Mr. Tsang explained that the government
operates with the blessing of Beijing, but must also serve the people
of Hong Kong.
"All principal officials, we are appointed by the Central People’s
Government, so we must be looking to the Hong Kong people as the people
we serve," Mr. Tsang said. "We must look at the C.P.G. as our sovereign
master."
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 