Media

Breaking the Deadlock on Political Reform

26 Jan 2010

 

The resignation of five legislators has distracted our attention from constructive debate on the Consultation Document on political reform for 2012.  The public consultation period ends on 19 February 2010 and presently all signs indicate the Government will not obtain the necessary two-thirds majority of all legislators to approve their proposals.  Failing to make any progress in 2012 could hold back Hong Kong's realisation of full democracy.

To further public debate on these issues the National Democratic Institute, Centre for Comparative and Public Law (CCPL), and Centre for Civil Society and Governance initiated the Hong Kong Political Reform Series under which two academic conferences were held in October 2009 and January 2010.   Following these conferences, researchers in the University of Hong Kong's CCPL developed an innovative proposal for political reform that has a real prospect to break the current deadlock on political reform.*

CCPL proposes that in addition to the five District Council Functional Constituency (FC) members, which the Consultation Document proposes to add, there should also be a gradual reduction in the number of FC members in the industrial, commercial and financial constituencies.  This proposal firmly bases itself on a valuable principle already contained within the Basic Law: the principle of balanced participation, as exemplified in the Election Committee defined in Annex I.  The proposal leverages its support from those FCs that are left unchanged.  Its most significant effect is to increase the representation of FCs most likely to support universal suffrage while diminishing the influence of those most likely to oppose it.

The CCPL Draft Submission released today explains how the proposal can bring the relevant stakeholders together to obtain the two-thirds majority vote and provide a comfortable margin of support for universal suffrage when the critical motion is put to legislators in the year 2018.

 *An earlier draft of this proposal was featured on the front page of the South China Morning Post on 9 January 2010.