Hong Kong lawmakers call on officials to boldly promote national pride as they approve motion encouraging learning about Xi Jinping’s 20th party congress report
- Motion passed with show of hands during rare discussion on Chinese Communist Party’s report on development of country
- Hong Kong officials must learn from party’s boldness in tackling tough issues, lawmaker Junius Ho says
Lawmakers have urged Hong Kong officials to boldly promote national pride and raise awareness about foreign interference, as they overwhelmingly approved a motion urging the government to encourage residents to learn about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s report at the country’s 20th party congress.
The motion was passed on Thursday with a show of hands during a marathon debate in the Legislative Council, where a rare discussion about the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s report on the development of the country took place.
Titled “Embracing the spirit of the 20th national congress to further develop Hong Kong”, the motion was put forward by lawmaker Dennis Lam Shun-chiu weeks after Xi delivered his report at the congress held in October, where he also secured a historic third term as state leader.
In the seven-hour debate, which began on Wednesday, all but three lawmakers in the 86-member legislature shared their take on what Xi’s report meant for Hong Kong. Four seats are currently vacant and will be filled after by-elections.
Lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu said officials must learn from the party’s boldness in tackling tough issues such as poverty, as well as doing more to promote decolonisation and national pride in the city.
He accused local authorities of being hesitant to enact such changes, saying: “Officials do not dare to decolonise Hong Kong. They insisted that street names such as Brewin Path are too sensitive and must not be changed, and the playground there must be named after the path.”
Ho was referring to the government’s recent move to rename the “Brewin Path temporary playground” in the Mid-Levels to “Brewin Path playground”. The path and the playground were named after Arthur Brewin, a British colonial official, with Ho having previously suggested that such places should instead be named after ancient Chinese heroes or local athletes.
