Democratic legislators in Hong Kong try to dam a proposed amendment to a neighborhood law that might prevent politicians from running for re-election not up to six months after resigning from their seat within the city's legislature. The Democrats' filibustering is angering the professional-Beijing government.
Resigning from the legislature then seeking immediate re-election sounds counter-intuitive. However, in 2010, five Hong Kong democrats used just this sort of technique to protest the slow pace of democratization on this special administrative region of China, which enjoys considerable political autonomy from Beijing.
The re-election campaign run by the five Democrats was seen as a de facto referendum at the government's loss of commitment to universal suffrage, in a city where referenda usually are not sanctioned in law. By trying to amend the legislation, the govt. is trying to confine political freedoms says Alan Leong, leader of the professional-democracy Civic Party and a kind of to resign in 2010.
“In the present legislative council, where half the council isn't returned by universal suffrage, the govt. can really bulldoze during the most unfair legislation. So, on the end of the day, if the federal government is set to pass this unjust piece of legislation, it is going to achieve this,†Leong said.
In an effort to delay the government's proposed amendment until a minimum of the fall legislative session, filibustering pan-Democrats have proposed greater than 1,300 amendments to the electoral bill.
Democrats have found quite a lot of creative how one can deplete precious legislative time in discussing their proposed amendments. The Bible and classical Chinese texts has been widely referenced. Legislator Raymond Wong even mimicked the slow speaking kind of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Meanwhile, pro-Beijing legislators - whose presence is critical to verify a quorum at the government side - were seen painting, writing poetry and exercising within the chamber to pass the hours.
Health Secretary York Chow told local media the Democrats' actions would have little impact at the final kind of the legislation.
“Of course they have got the correct. But … this kind of behavior is unreasonable. You are able to do [this] each time. And, in the event you did, the entire legislature will be obstructed to a standstill,†Chow said.
The filibuster is a humiliation for Donald Tsang, the increasingly unpopular head of the Hong Kong government. Tsang leaves office in July and hoped to pass several pieces of legislation before his retirement. Leong has little sympathy.
“This impasse is absolutely of the government's own making. The Civic Party proposed an adjournment motion which might give the govt. a technique out, however the government and pro-government camp voted down this motion,†Leong said.
The filibuster also causes a headache for Tsang's successor, Leung Chun-ying. The subsequent, Beijing-sanctioned leader of Hong Kong intended to hunt legislative approval of a proposed reorganization of presidency departments before June, to facilitate his transition into office.
With the filibuster ongoing, here's looking less and no more likely.
From WhatNewsToday.net
0 comments:
Post a Comment