Bishop Zen: Democracy hindered by Tung Chee-hwa remarks

Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - The movement towards full democracy is hindered by principles set down in the chief executive's report to Beijing concerning constitutional reform, said the head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong yesterday.

Speaking after a church forum on the religious situation on the mainland yesterday, Bishop Zen commented on Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's report to Beijing last week - which set out nine principles to guide electoral reform – stating it would negatively affect democratic development in the country.

"It is obvious that these ... elements [will limit] future discussions [on reform]," Bishop Zen said.  ". The report is supposed to tell the central government that there is a need for change ... but these [principles] limit the discussion on how we can change.".

More than 79% of Hong Kong people call for direct elections of the Chief Executive and for universal suffrage of the Legislative Council (Legco).

On Friday 15 April, Tung Chee-hwa submitted a report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee, recommending that changes be made to Hong Kong's electoral methods in and after 2007.   The report also contained nine "factors"  which the chief executive said Hong Kong "should have regard to" when considering changes.  Listing the "factors" he made it clear that development must progress "step by step" and that "the pace should not be too fast".  The views of the central authorities "must also be heeded".

A second report by the government's taskforce on constitutional reform was also released on the 15th of April. The report contained the taskforce's analysis of the maturity of political parties, and considered the adverse impact political reform might have on the city's capitalistic way of life, and on the public understanding of "one country, two systems".

Mr Tung's report, together with the taskforce report, were hand-delivered to the Standing Committee in Beijing by Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam Sui-lung,  just nine days after the NPC gave its interpretations on two key electoral provisions in the Basic Law annexes.

The NPC ruled that changes to the selection method for the chief executive in 2007 and Legco in 2008 were possible, but Beijing would decide whether there was a need to do so.

Mr Tung's report strongly stresses the will of  the Beijing authorities on every change, making people doubt the value of the "one country, two systems" principle.

Despite the criteria outlined in Mr Tung's report, Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who headed the taskforce, said universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 had not been ruled out at this stage.

Critics accuse Mr Tung of erecting more hurdles to constitutional development, making universal suffrage in 2007-08 almost impossible.

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