STUART LAUstuart.lau@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 21 October, 2015, 12:01am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 21 October, 2015, 12:01am
Cyd Ho's move comes two weeks after the ICAC arrested former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and charged him with misconduct relating to an agreement he struck to lease a penthouse in Shenzhen. Photo: Felix Wong
Labour Party lawmaker Cyd Ho Sau-lan has drafted a private member's bill calling on the government to extend bribery laws to cover gifts and advantages offered to the chief executive.
"If it is the government policy to crack down on corruption, how can the chief executive alone be exempted?" Ho said.
There is little chance of her bill being passed in the Legislative Council, however, given the dominance of pro-establishment lawmakers.
Ho's move comes two weeks after the Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and charged him with misconduct relating to an agreement he struck to lease a penthouse in Shenzhen.
But the lack of any legal action in response to Tsang's alleged acceptance of yacht and private jet trips from tycoons prompted renewed calls for Leung to honour his post-election promise to subject himself to the same restrictions on gifts and advantages that apply to all civil servants.
Under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, any civil servant who solicits or accepts an advantage without the permission of the chief executive is guilty of an offence. But that means the chief executive himself cannot be covered by the legislation.
The government has said any change to the law involves "constitutional, legal and operational implications". It said it would prudently handle recommendations made by a committee led by former chief justice Andrew Li Kwok-nang that it be a criminal offence for the chief executive to solicit or accept any advantage without the permission of a statutory independent committee.
Leung has refused to commit to a timetable, backtracking on a promise made in 2012 as chief executive-elect to adopt Li's proposal swiftly.
Ho's bill is generally in line with Li's report. But even if it is approved by the government, it is unlikely to be passed in the legislature. Bills proposed by members are subject to so-called split voting, meaning they need a majority among both geographical sector lawmakers, elected by the public at large, and those representing functional constituencies, most of whom are elected by professional and trade groups.
Pro-establishment lawmakers are in control of the latter group.
"The chief executive is the head of the SAR, so here is the problem. It has something to do with [his] constitutional [role]," said lawmaker Tam Yiu-chung, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
"I'm afraid it's impossible to do it by way of a private member's bill."
But the Liberal Party's James Tien Pei-chun, who is not on good terms with Leung despite the party's pro-establishment stance, said he would support the bill as even mainland officials would face prosecution if they were found to be corrupt.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1870085/lawmaker-proposes-amendment-end-hong-kong-chief-executives
