'Most Serious Governance Crisis Since Handover'

The former Transport and Housing Secretary Anthony Cheung said on Saturday that Hong Kong is facing its most serious governance crisis since the handover, and it is time to address "fundamental defects" in the city's political system.

Cheung said the government's decision to effectively put aside its contentious proposals to amend the city's extradition laws was a major concessions, but many people remain unsatisfied.

He said the government needs to really listen to understand why people are so unhappy.

"I think it's time to reflect on those defects in order to take Hong Kong forward," Cheung said.

"Definitely part of the solution is to review the political structure, and further democratisation , I think, is unavoidable."

But Cheung added that any debate on political reform is bound to be controversial and people should be prepared to make compromises.

He said constitutional reform will definitely bring up the issue of the relationship between Beijing and Hong Kong, and mutual trust is needed.

The former minister also threw his weight behind calls for an independent commission of inquiry to be set up to probe the June 12 protests, saying it would help to ease social tensions.

He said the public trusts the inquiry system, and it's a mechanism the government often uses for major issues, such as the 2012 Lamma ferry disaster, the 2015 lead water scandal, and the recent allegations of shoddy construction work on the MTR's Shatin-to-Central link.

However, Cheung said the inquiry should not just target the police, but what happened throughout the extradition saga.

"The police feel very much at the centre of the controversy, which is not of its own making. The police also feel aggrieved," he said.

"So in order to achieve conciliation at such a critical moment, I think a commission of inquiry to be presided by an experienced judge would help to bring society together and in the process to find out the truth and achieve the conciliation."