Democrats won't join 'consensus' petition
Chairwoman Emily Lau says signing call for agreement would give the false impressions the party would 'pocket' fake universal suffrage
The Democratic Party will not sign a petition initiated by moderate Beijing loyalists calling for consensus on political reform out of concern that doing so would signal a willingness to settle for "fake universal suffrage" in 2017.
Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing made the comments yesterday after a day of discussion among leading members over their attitude to the signature campaign launched last week urging all parties to seek dialogue and consider all "practicable" models for reform.
Party co-founder Dr Law Chi-kwong was among 39 moderates to sign the petition last week.
"Some of the signatories are hoping to be middlemen … to call on different parties to make a concession. But what kind of concession could we make in fighting for genuine universal suffrage?" asked Lau after eight hours of talks involving almost 30 members. "We do not want to send the … wrong message by signing the petition."
However, Lau said she would be more than happy to sign if the petition called for a model for the 2017 chief executive election that did not allow the "screening" of candidates on political grounds.
Former party chairman Dr Yeung Sum and ex-lawmaker Cheung Man-kwong were among those invited to sign the petition, but held off doing so until the party made its decision. However, Stanley Ng Wing-fai, a member of the party's executive, stirred controversy when he signed the petition last week.
Although no one had suggested disciplinary action be taken against Ng, Lau said she believed core members should handle such situations more carefully in future to avoid misunderstandings.
