Legislative Council Debate To Force Disclosure
The Democratic Party tabled a motion to invoke Legislative Council (Power and Privileges) Ordinance to force the government to disclose the criteria for choosing and justification for making each appointment, and for determining their remuneration. It was scheduled for a vote on 26 June 2008.
Donald Tsang delivered an unprecedented 20-minute speech prior to the start of the debate on a motion tabled by Lee Wing Tat in an attempt to quell the criticism. Tsang lectured the chamber about there having been "excessive" argument about the subject. "It is about time we put an end to it... We should dedicate all our energies to the things that are important to the people of Hong Kong, especially the livelihood issues," Tsang said. Tsang denied Norman Chan had shown favouritism during the selection process, saying "It was unfair to those appointees who were identified as Chan's people. Chan knows people from various sectors." After his speech, Tsang refused to take questions; his speech was followed by those by the Chief Secretary and the Secretary for Justice.
Lee's motion was defeated, as expected (22:29:1), after some seven hours of heated debate. The Standard observed that Tsang's attempt to assert his leadership had backfired. Tsang's performance was criticised as "dismissive" and "contemptuous" by the Legal sector legislator, Margaret Ng.
| “ | The economy may be uppermost in the minds of most people, but... he lack of transparency and accountability over this whole affair smacks too much of the cronyism which Hong Kong people most fear, not least because it is a precursor of corruption. | ” |
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— Margaret Ng, 3 July 2008, South China Morning Post |
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Read more about this topic: Political Appointments System In Hong Kong
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