Legco rejects thanks for CY Leung speech
Defeat of motion marks the ninth time since the handover legislators have refused to express gratitude for the chief executive’s policy address
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's first policy address was given the thumbs down at a Legislative Council meeting last night.
After a marathon debate lasting almost 32 hours across three days, most functional-constituency lawmakers backed the motion, voting 24 to 10 in favour. But geographical-constituency lawmakers rejected it, 18 to 16. A majority on both sides was needed for the motion to pass.
Speaking before the vote, House Committee chairman Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen said he hoped officials would listen to the comments legislators made throughout the debate, regardless of the fate of the motion.
The rejection was the ninth since the 1997 handover that legislators have refused to thank the chief executive for his policy address.
In a last-ditch attempt to secure more votes, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor challenged criticism that the speech lacked substance, noting many of the policies Leung announced had been made public.
"If the chief executive had reserved the policies for the address, it definitely would have brought a more positive reaction from society," Lam said.
She avoided tackling criticism that the speech was vague about implementing universal suffrage for the chief executive election, a landmark change widely expected among the public and which Beijing had said was possible in 2017.
