2014-07-27
HK needs genuine suffrage: academics
HKT 12:47
Academics have underlined their opposition to watering down proposed universal suffrage for the election of Chief Executive in 2017.
A veteran Democratic Party member, Professor Law Chi-kwong, said Hongkongers should not accept a political reform proposal on universal suffrage in 2017 that did not meet international standards.
Professor Law, one of 18 academics who put forward a reform proposal to allow the public to "recommend" candidates to the nominating committee, also said a stalemate on constitutional development would tear society apart even further.
Speaking to reporters after taking part in a radio programme, he said "any unreasonable restriction" on the choice for universal suffrage was not consistent with the Basic Law.
"So I would say any particular package that leads to so-called universal suffrage necessarily must be consistent with the rights of Hong Kong people having a genuine choice," he said, adding that this would be the bottom line for Hong Kong people.
Separately, Francis Lui a professor of economics, who along with 12 other academics, advocates expanding the nominating committee for 2017, said he was "cautiously pessimistic" that a consensus would be reached on political reform.
He said he had heard that Beijing was willing to listen to his group's moderate proposal, describing this as a step forward.
Separately, a sociology professor Lui Tai-lok criticised government officials, including the Chief Executive, C Y Leung, for signing a high-profile Alliance for Peace and Democracy petition against the Occupy Central movement.
"There’s a domain (that) belongs to government and there’s also a big domain that belongs to civil society," Professor Lui Tai-lok said, warning that the two should not intermingle.
The Alliance for Peace and Democracy said it will present the signatures that it's collected to the Chief Secretary Carrie Lam on Monday.
http://m.rthk.hk/news/20140727/1025128.htm
