"Pro-democracy" legislators in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region submitted a motion to hold a referendum on the implementation of universal suffrage for the elections of the chief executive and legislature in 2007 and 2008. The Legislative Council (LegCo) voted the motion down in a Monday ballot.

Of the 54 members attending a special meeting of the LegCo constitutional affairs panel, 31 voted against the Fernando Cheung's motion while 20 supported it. Three members -- Chim Pui-chung, Joseph Lee and Tam Heung-man -- abstained. The panel comprises 58 members.

Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam addressed the panel prior to the voting.

Lam said no provision was made in the Basic Law or local legislation with respect to conducting a referendum in the SAR and, as a result, the authorities did not possess the power to use the data of 3.2 million registered voters for the purpose of a referendum.

He added that the community is still short of consensus over the question of local political reforms, especially on the question of universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008.

Lee Cheuk-yan asserted that the LegCo election results were evidence of a consensus on the question of political reform.

But Lam replied, "While it is a fact that 62 percent of voters voted for the 'pro-democracy' camp in the LegCo election, about 40 percent also voted for parties with a stance different from the pan-democrats. We cannot say there is a consensus in the SAR."

Lam said the government would not consider any unconstitutional proposals that would run against the Basic Law and the NPCSC ruling. Since Hong Kong is not a sovereign state, it is required to liaise with the central government on its constitutional development.

Legislator and Liberal Party Chairman James Tien also disagreed with the claims that there was already a consensus in society.

Independent legislator Chim Pui-chung called on his council colleagues not to waste time and energy on an issue that was bound to achieve nothing. Instead, Chim suggested, legislators should focus more on local concerns such as the West Kowloon Project.

Ahead of the meeting, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Commissioner in Hong Kong Yang Wenchang said a referendum is a serious issue and no decision on it could be taken lightly. It is necessary for Hong Kong, especially politicians such as legislative councilors, to stay cool and act responsibly in the interest of the people, said Yang.

Earlier this month, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa slammed the motion attempt, saying it would seriously undermine community harmony and damage the HKSAR's cordial ties with the central government.

Tung's remarks were backed by Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong Gao Siren, who warned that the referendum, as proposed, amounted to a challenge to the country's constitutional setup and contravened the SAR's legal status.

(China Daily December 2, 2004))