|
We all know that Hong Kong Inc has been in political and
financial turmoil for sometime. A reshuffle of management
was called for and now partly answered with the sudden
departure of three top Government executives. The
community is now ready for more changes and the gear is
shifted to a ¡¥re-organisation¡¦ mode. Expectation is
running high with regard to what the Chief Executive will
do next.
So far, the Chief Executive has been placed in a rather
defensive position. He appeared to be reacting only to
changes as they spring up sporadically in a random
sequence of events. I personally do not believe that the
repercussions of the historic march on the 1st July, has
come to a finish. I think that more heads will roll
and that there has to be more fundamental changes in
politics and fiscal and economic policies before the
anxiety of those half a million who took to the streets on
that grueling hot summer day can be eased. The messages
are clear: a more open and responsive Government and a
more caring set of fiscal and economic policies when times
are really hard.
The Chief Executive has already shown some decisiveness in
accepting many major amendments to the National Security
Bill. Though rather unwillingly, he has let go of both Mr.
Anthony Leung and Ms. Regina Ip. Mr. Tung has further
uncharacteristically accepted that the Government could
have made mistakes. He has solemnly pledged to open up
more communication channels with the people of Hong Kong.
This is a good start but, I would still submit, he has not
gone far enough. He must be bold and decisive in
completing his cabinet reshuffle. This will be a crucial
move to restore stability and confidence so that he can
make a fresh start without the old political baggage.
The Government must also realize that the Legislative
Council has always been well positioned to become its
opposition. The Legislature is also well equipped with the
necessary powers to severely hamper the Government if it
chooses to do so. As a matter of constitutional principle,
the executives must work closely with the legislature
rather than to try to enslave it. Power sharing with the
legislature must not be treated as an option but as an
essential ingredient to a stable Government. Otherwise,
the legislature will become increasingly militant through
the voters¡¦ choice if the Government insists on turning a
deaf ear. With these thoughts in mind, the new team must,
in my view, also tackle the following issues in the near
term:
Political Structure:
A consultative exercise should be launched within a
reasonably short timeframe. It is time to explore and
debate novel and creative ideas both acceptable to Beijing
and the people of Hong Kong. The National Security Bill (NSO)
is a prime example that sensitive issues that require a
measure of input from Beijing will necessarily take a long
time to resolve satisfactorily. There must be no illusion
that the Government can still pull another quick one on
Hong Kong after the NSO without having to take exceptional
risks of invoking another serious last minute misfire.
In 1998, I proposed that the Legislative Council could be
expanded to 90 seats in 2008 with 30 new seats assigned to
geographic direct election. The present 30 Functional
Constituency (FC) seats together with the bi-camel system
of voting can then be retained to ensure a level of
professional expertise in the Council. I still believe
that it is a good proposal worthy of consideration.
An alternative proposal which is a little bit more
aggressive is to turn the existing 30 functional
constituencies into Professional ¡¥Election Committees¡¦.
The concept is then to allow the FC to elect no more than
three candidates amongst its peers; each must secure the
support of no less than say, 25 per cent of the vote cast
of the FC before these candidates can hold themselves out
for a direct election by all the registered voters of Hong
Kong. This system will ensure that FC members,
particularly those serving Legislative Councilors, must be
acceptable not only to his own FC, but also to the whole
of the People of Hong Kong.
The election of the Chief Executive can also be modified
in a similar manner that the candidates must first
obtained no less than 25 per cent of the votes of the
Election Committee before moving forward to direct
election. He must then obtain a majority vote in a general
election following a process of elimination if necessary.
In theory, therefore, a popular candidate with the support
of just over 200 Election Committee members and more than
half the general voters¡¦ support can become our Chief
Executive in 2007. Conversely, a very unpopular Chief
Executive with a majority support of the Election
Committee can still fail in his bid for the top post if a
challenger can successfully past the modified ¡¥nomination
process¡¦ of the Election Committee. The design of this
system will make the balance of the wishes of the people
of Hong Kong and the influence of Beijing much more
transparent and rational. I believe that discussion of
this nature will help the Government and the legislators
to gauge the true wishes of the electors and in the
process, help to alleviate some of the anger and
frustration of the now estranged public.
Fiscal and Economic Policy:
The departure of Mr. Anthony Leung creates a perfectly
good opportunity for the Government to abandon its
unrealistic target to balance the Budget in 2006-2007.
There are good reasons for doing so too since a speedy
economic revival and the anticipated recovery of property
prices simply has not materialised. Instead, the ill fated
Sars must have dealt another blow to a lot of economic
predictions. Furthermore, it can be argued that the
present fiscal policies can be regarded as particularly
harsh to the middle-income group who have already suffered
the most from assets devaluations, job insecurity and
increasing tax burdens. They must now feel unfairly
treated, anxious and angry.
The Government Budget is also in a state of insolvency
that requires a Scheme of Financial Arrangement in a
Corporate Rescue mode. We need a new injection of
transient capital and a new management philosophy at least
in the short transitional term. The dual objective of
boosting economic growth and balancing the budget all
within a short timeframe of three and half year is both
foolhardy and confusing. We must make it clear to the
people of Hong Kong that the balancing of the budget can
wait perhaps two or three years more. The priority now is
on economic recovery and that the timing is right with the
help of CEPA and a recovering US economy. In the meantime,
we should appeal to the people of Hong Kong for national
debts with a realistic floating rate of interest instead
of raising more and more taxes from the same group of hard
pressed middle class. I am sure that with the community
spirit of solidarity still lingering on from Sars and with
a banking system still flushed with undeployed funds, the
people of Hong Kong will be glad to voluntarily oblige.
May the thoughts of the new Financial Secretary and others
who take on the challenge of Government be truly with the
People they serve.
Dr Eric Li is the LegCo
Accountancy Functional Constituency Representative.
For more information, refer to his website at
http://www.ericli.org
¡@
¡@ |
