Exco convener expects pro-establishment field in Hong Kong chief executive poll
Lam Woon-kwong says he expects pro-establishment trio to fight out 2017 chief executive election
Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong says he expects the race for the 2017 chief executive poll to come down to three pro-establishment hopefuls, contradicting government assurances that pan-democrats have a real chance of fielding a candidate.
Lam's comments mark the first time a government-affiliated figure has indicated the nominating committee for the election will vote out aspirants from the pan-democratic camp.
He was speaking on DBC radio yesterday about the government's electoral reform package, which will go to a legislative vote this summer.
"I think, if it's passed, the pro-establishment camp will perhaps have three people standing as candidates," Lam said.
"There's no reason [they] will waste any seat, right? There must be a lot of people who are interested [in becoming candidates]."
But Lam also believed that any pan-democratic hopeful who enjoyed overwhelming popularity would put huge pressure on the 1,200-strong nominating committee to send him or her on to a public vote.
If the committee still voted out that person, it would give pan-democrats ammunition for their argument that the system was rigged to nominate only Beijing-friendly candidates, he said.
And even if all three candidates in the public vote turned out to be Beijing loyalists, pan-democrats would still have a role to play, he said. "There is no reason for the three … to simply court the votes [of] pro-establishment supporters. Pan-democrats are still in a position to influence [their] attitudes."
Labour Party stalwart Lee Cheuk-yan mocked Lam as "the most honest official", as the Exco convenor at least acknowledged that pan-democrats had no chance under the current reform proposal. But Lee remained sceptical that pan-democrats could really influence the candidates' attitude. "The committee would exert pressure on the candidates not to put forward any policies it disliked," he said.
According to the government's proposal, the nominating committee will first choose up to 10 hopefuls for consideration, then screen them individually before voting on them en masse.
They must receive a majority vote to qualify as candidates, but only two or three of them with the most votes from the committee - believed to be controlled by Beijing loyalists - will stand in the public vote.
Officials promoting the reforms say their aim is to win 60 per cent support from the public in order to persuade pan-democratic lawmakers to approve it.
But a Now TV-commissioned poll held by three universities found just 47 per cent backed the proposal while 38 per cent opposed it. Other media polls showed similar results, with the rate of support at no more than 51 per cent since the government unveiled its proposal last week.
Chinese University pollster Professor Clement So York-kee said it would be impossible for the government to win 60 per cent support unless it introduced incentives to target groups such as well-educated young people who had objected strongly to it.
"Public opinion is clear," So said.
"Perhaps the government has room to make further pledges … such as democratising the nominating committee, reforming the next [chief executive] poll or adjusting functional constituencies in the next Legco poll."
