My Take | Pan-dems are right to want to separate wheat from the chaff
The government has bundled many public works projects into a single funding request that would allow some without any merit to proceed
Another day, another impasse at the Legislative Council. The government wants lawmakers to quickly approve more than 9,400 public works projects worth HK$12.4 billion. The pan-democrats want to examine 26 items worth about HK$190 million involving controversial projects in Wang Chau, Lantau and the northeast New Territories.
The government has refused, saying those items must be bundled together because of contracts and work schedules. It sounds like the government is baying for a fight, hoping to blame the pan-dems for holding up funding, delaying works and killing jobs.
This is despite the fact that most other items are non-controversial, such as maintenance works for slopes, schools and roads and could be quickly approved if separated from those 26 items.
The government is being cynical, but the pan-dems have only themselves to blame. They have filibustered indiscriminately in the past three years. Having failed to pick their battles wisely, they can hardly expect much public trust.
This time around though, I can’t say I blame them. The public housing plans in Wang Chau have been drastically scaled back amid accusations that the government has craved to the demands of rural strongmen. This may or may not be true. But for lawmakers to get an accurate picture, they need time to look at the numbers.
