All things are possible in slow crawl to reform
Hong Kong is up to challenge of reconciling rival worldviews on its road to democracy
On December 4, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-Ngor launched a consultation document on methods for forming the 2016 Legislative Council and for selecting the chief executive in 2017.
The title, cherry-picked for the document, has a ring to it: "Let's talk and achieve universal suffrage."
Taking us through the intricate penta-rhythmic steps of political cha-cha-cha, the chief secretary, with her customary cool, summed up in Legco the five vital steps that must be followed for the selection of the chief executive for Hong Kong.
Perhaps not in so many words, she made it amply clear that any suggestions and ideas, no matter how brilliant, falling outside the provisions of the Basic Law would be proscribed.
Furthermore, under the Basic Law, it goes without saying that the chief executive must love his country and Hong Kong because that person will be accountable to both Hong Kong and Beijing.
Should the new rules for the constitutional changes not secure passage through Legco by a two-thirds majority, the city will have to mark time politically and suffer the consequences.
The government's sincerity in listening extensively to the views of the public is not in doubt. What is in doubt is whether the consultation is itself a genuine exercise, with so many hurdles to overcome.
