My Take | Hong Kong pan-democrats oppose IT bureau for all the wrong reasons

Are the pan-democrats against having an innovation and technology bureau or are they just picking a fight so they can give Leung Chun-ying another black eye with more filibustering?

I can respect the former because the proposed mandate and structure of the bureau does not seem to be thought out properly and leaves much room for improvement. But if it's just a fight they want, the pan-dems are cutting off the nose to spite the face. As far as I can tell, many don't actually oppose such a bureau. Indeed, pan-democratic lawmaker Charles Mok, who represents the IT industry, has long lobbied for it because it clearly has industry support. His IT predecessor Sin Chung-kai, currently a fellow democrat lawmaker, appears to oppose the bureau like many pan-dems only because it's the chief executive's baby. Leung has wanted the bureau from the time he was campaigning for the top job.

Officials are seeking Finance Committee approval for HK$35 million to set up the bureau, but pan-democratic lawmakers have tabled at least 200 motions to drag out meetings to make them miss a funding deadline.

Given their scorched-earth filibustering tactic, you can hardly blame officials for withdrawing several funding requests - including a fisheries loan fund - to push bureau funding to the top of the agenda. The pan-dems then cried foul, saying the government has disrespected Legco. Hmm, given their mutual hostility, please spare us the charade about respect.

This is not to say the proposed bureau doesn't have issues. It will only have control over the ineffective Innovation and Technology Commission and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Big deal! Its mandate should include global internet policy, telecommunications, broadcasting, development of protocols and standards, cybersecurity, privacy and copyright protection, but it doesn't. So these policy domains will still be handled in a piecemeal manner by various existing bureaus and departments.

At the very least, shouldn't the bureau preside over the Intellectual Property Department, Communications Authority and Create Hong Kong to streamline resources and avoid overlap?