Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun has warned that Hong Kong’s proposed electoral reforms based on a new plan proposed by the Democrat Party will achieve the opposite of their intended effect. Two days before the Legislative Council casts its crucial vote on the reforms, he has broken his silence to speak out against them.
“The problem is that the plan will basically retain and increase Hong Kong’s functional constituency seats,” he said, “when the ultimate goal is to abolish them.”
At present, only half of the territory’s government seats are directly elected by its 3.43 million voters. The rest are elected by ‘functional constituencies’, consisting mainly of pro-Beijing professional elites.
It is claimed that the reform would allow the public to vote on more of the seats. As a lifelong campaigner for universal suffrage, the influential Cardinal may have been expected to back it.
But as well as the basic problem he outlined, he said it leaves other questions unanswered. The proposal is also constitutionally flawed, he believes, as it does not fully account for the nomination process and voting system of the Chief Executive or the Legislative Council.
He urged a postponement to the parliamentary vote, so the public can have more time to study, discuss and express their views on the plan. Denying this request would show “major contempt to the people,” he said.
Over the weekend, the government lobbied lawmakers of all parties to support the revised proposal, which has been approved by Beijing.
It is expected to win backing from more than two-thirds of the 60 lawmakers if the vote does go ahead on June 23.
This complex set of reforms has already caused controversy, with five pan-democrat government members resigning last month in protest against it.
They were later re-installed, but the rift between the radical activist pan-democrats and the moderate Democratic Party is deepening.
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