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Selina Chow believed that maintaining discipline within the Beijing-friendly camp in the "political struggle" against the Occupy Central movement was behind the CPPCC's sacking of James Tien. Photo: May Tse

Selina Chow warns pro-establishment politicians over voters' support

Selina Chow says pro-establishment politicians may lose voters' support if disagreements with Beijing are discussed behind close doors

Pro-establishment politicians will have difficulty winning voters' support after being told by a state leader that they should convey dissenting views to Beijing behind closed doors rather than airing them in public, the Liberal Party's chairwoman said yesterday.

Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee was speaking a day after party leader James Tien Pei-chun was sacked from the nation's top political advisory body for urging Beijing-backed Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to consider resigning.

Also on Wednesday, the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was quoted as saying that delegates with dissenting views, like Tien's, should take them directly to Beijing instead of airing them publicly.

"If pro-establishment politicians are hesitant about airing criticisms, the voice of moderates within the pro-establishment camp will be sidelined," Chow told the .

"It would be unfavourable for pro-establishment politicians when canvassing support in future elections."

She believed that maintaining discipline within the Beijing-friendly camp in the "political struggle" against the Occupy Central movement was behind the CPPCC's sacking of Tien, who later also quit as party leader.

Meanwhile, amid efforts to resolve the political impasse over Beijing's strict rules for the 2017 chief executive election that has left parts of the city paralysed by demonstrators, a pan-democrat lawmaker said the city's No 2 official had agreed to consider meeting members of the camp.

Alan Leong Kah-kit, convenor of a weekly "lunch box meeting" of 23 pan-democratic lawmakers, said they had asked Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday for a meeting. "Carrie said she would think about it," Leong said.

He said the lawmakers wanted to discuss government proposals - raised at a meeting between officials and student leaders last week - for a report to Beijing to reflect public sentiment and for a multiparty platform for dialogue on political reform.

Yu's advice for pro-establishment politicians to take their views to Beijing was relayed by Chan Wing-kee, a member of the CPPCC standing committee.

Chow said she understood the reminder from Yu had come amid political turmoil over the Occupy movement - labelled by Vice-Premier Wang Yang two weeks ago as a "colour revolution", a reference to uprisings in post-Soviet states.

"Some Hongkongers might think Beijing is taking too hardline an approach," she said. "[But] the central government might require discipline within the pro-establishment camp during the political struggle."

Chow defended Tien, saying he had been speaking from "the bottom of his heart".

"He only asked Leung to consider whether his resignation could be a way out of the current political deadlock," she said, adding that many Hongkongers might share Tien's view.

"I may not 100 per cent agree with him, but I don't think Tien was wrong."

Chow denied donors and business figures were distancing themselves from the pro-business party but admitted it was facing a "real test".

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Warning on airing dissent in secret
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