HK Can Still Move Towards Democracy: Elsie Leung

Former justice secretary Elsie Leung has rejected suggestions that Beijing's electoral overhaul for Hong Kong has violated the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, saying the SAR can still move towards democracy after things “return to the right track”.

Beijing announced last Friday that it would introduce drastic changes to Hong Kong's political system, including empowering the election committee that selects the Chief Executive to also nominate and pick Legislative Council members.

Sources say there are also plans to drop all 117 district councilors from the election committee, and for an “eligibility vetting committee” to be set up to screen candidates in future.

Speaking on a radio show on Sunday, Elsie Leung said she believes the future Legco will consist of more lawmakers who’re chosen by the election committee, than those who’re directly-elected.

She also signaled the possibility of the Legco polls being further postponed, saying it’s likely that the next Legco election can only occur after the race for the election committee, which is scheduled to take place this December.

The former deputy director of the Basic Law Committee also hit back at criticism that the overhaul would result in a regression in the city’s democratic development, saying the Basic Law clearly states that political reforms must be carried out in "a gradual and orderly” manner, taking into account the actual situation in Hong Kong.

“Foreign countries have used Hong Kong as a way to attack Beijing, while people here had clear intention to split the country and obstruct governance,” she said, as she defended the need for Beijing to introduce the sweeping reforms.

Leung also claimed that Beijing has always hoped to see the SAR move towards democracy, but Hong Kong only has itself to blame for not doing it well in the past twenty years or so.

She stressed Hong Kong can still move towards democracy in future after the city “returns to the right track”.

Meanwhile, former Chief Executive CY Leung said there are several ways to tell whether a person is patriotic.

Speaking on an interview with state-run CCTV, Leung said this could be done by way of elimination.

“Those who harm Hong Kong or the country’s interests, those who ‘go to the United States” or cause trouble in Legco are clearly unpatriotic and should be barred from ruling the SAR in future,” he said.