Sat, Apr 17, 2004 page4

• Few happy faces after Tung meeting

  • AP
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  Seeking to ease rising political tensions, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) held a rare meeting yesterday with legislative foes but they accused him of stalling and ignoring the people's hopes for full democracy.

  Tung called the session "useful" and said he looks forward to "more communication and less dispute" with the pro-democracy lawmakers. But Tung declined to take questions from reporters.

  

  Pro-Democracy legislators listen while Democratic party chairman Yeung Sum, center, speaks at a press conference at the Government Office in Hong Kong yesterday after meeting Chief Executive Tung Chee-Hwa. Yeung accused the government of insincerity by not consulting the people before Tung submitted his report to Beijing on political reforms.

  PHOTO:AFP

  Lawmakers who met with Tung in his office said he had refused to give them any timetable for starting discussions on political reforms. They attacked his decision a day earlier to send a recommendation to Beijing on the matter without reflecting the will of the Hong Kong public.

  "The spirit of this meeting was polite but unhappy," said Yeung Sum (楊森), leader of the opposition Democratic Party who was surrounded in a news conference by grim-faced colleagues.

  "He himself is an obstacle to full democracy," said lawmaker Frederick Fung (馮檢基) before the meeting. "He doesn't ask, he doesn't discuss with lawmakers or people. This is extremely disappointing."

  Tung angered many in Hong Kong on Thursday by sending a report to Beijing that suggested the territory's electoral systems should be reformed in time for the leadership election in 2007 that will choose his successor, as well as the 2008 Legislative Council elections.

  Critics say he acted hastily and without consulting the public -- just days after Beijing asserted control over any political reforms here by saying it must approve any changes in advance.

  Tung recommended nine guidelines for political reforms that his opponents claim have effectively killed any hopes of full democracy in the near term.

  Yeung said the pro-democracy lawmakers "can't accept" the way Tung handled the matter. They urged him to send Beijing a supplementary report that would outline the public's democratic aspirations, but he refused.

  Tung's proposal on Thursday contained no specifics for change, but he said there was no point in going into any details unless the Chinese government agrees it will be possible to modify Hong Kong's electoral methods.

  The English-language daily The Standard said: "Tung roadblocks blunt vote hopes." However, Bei jing's allies defended Tung.

  The pro-China daily Ta Kung Pao said that by taking an initiative within days of Beijing's ruling, Tung had shown he was "handling the issue on political reform with an active attitude, with no delay."

  The Wen Wei Po daily lashed out at pro-democracy politicians, saying their pleas for more consultation were a delaying tactic to help them "fish in troubled waters and gain votes in the September elections."
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