Opinion | Party time in Hong Kong if governance crisis is ever to be resolved
Frank Ching wonders if Tung's admission of a governance problem is a sign Beijing finally sees that political parties have a role to play
Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, in his press conference last week, surprisingly acknowledged there is a problem with Hong Kong’s political system – one constructed according to the Basic Law. The paralysis in the executive-legislative relationship, he said, reflected a systemic issue. Without the support of the major party in the Legislative Council, bills don’t get passed.
Tung’s admission was refreshing. Since he is now a state leader, hopefully this means the central government realises the serious mistake it made in the 1980s. The Chinese government naively looked at the efficiency of Hong Kong in the 1970s and wanted to perpetuate that through an executive-led system. However, the British at thchief executive e time had an appointed legislature. China made Legco elected and thought it would not change the system as a whole.
As Sir Sze-yuen Chung, former Executive Council convenor, wrote in his memoirs, Hong Kong’s Journey to Reunification, the executive-led system started to splutter even before 1997, after partial elections were introduced. The reform package of Chris Patten, the last governor, was passed by just one vote, and then only after the intervention of the then British prime minister, John Major. Nonetheless, the Basic Law insists on a system in which the chief executive is not subject to the dictates of political parties. That is why he cannot be a member of one. But that also means they are not under his sway.
Ten years ago, a task force on constitutional development set up by Tung reported: “Under the present system, the chief executive does not have established support in the Legislative Council. This has had an adverse effect on the executive-led system and administrative efficiency.”
Tung sent the report to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee but it did not budge. Ten years later, Beijing still gives no sign that it understands the chief executive needs support in the legislature to govern. This is, on one hand, a huge compliment to Beijing, since it granted more democracy to Hong Kong after 1997 than the British did in 150 years. But Beijing must realise that it cannot expect everything else to remain unchanged.
Since legislators are no longer appointed, an institutional link between the chief executive and the biggest political party is vital. The legal requirement that the chief executive cannot belong to a political party hinders good governance. The Basic Law doesn’t recognise the existence of political parties. Indeed, the term does not appear in the document.
