Beijing 'won't be swayed' on HK's political reform even if Albert Ho triggers by-election
Lawmaker's plan to force vote on reform by quitting is flawed, says Lam
"Super seat" lawmaker Albert Ho Chun-yan is on a mission impossible if he thinks he can hold Beijing to ransom by triggering a citywide vote aimed at reflecting public sentiment on its rules for the 2017 chief executive race, top government officials say.
Beijing was unlikely to withdraw its strict electoral framework or relaunch the whole political reform debate just because of the by-election expected to stem from Ho's planned exit from the legislature, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen said.
That by-election, for the district council (second) constituency, could be interpreted as a de facto referendum on reform as it would involve 3.2 million voters in a city of seven million.
Lam and Tam urged the Democratic Party stalwart yesterday to revisit his plan as the by-election would cost taxpayers about HK$200 million.
"If [Ho] wants to force the Beijing or Hong Kong governments to relaunch the five-step reform process immediately through a [de facto referendum], I would say this is impractical - if not impossible," Lam said on radio.
But she admitted being pessimistic about the prospect of winning over pan-democrat lawmakers to back the government's upcoming reform proposal, although she would keep lobbying them privately.
They had vowed to veto any reform package since Beijing ruled in August that chief executive aspirants must gain majority support from a 1,200-strong nominating committee.
