Opposition lawmakers in Hong Kong say they hope Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) will tackle democratic reforms head-on in his first major policy speech since a huge protest six months ago sent shock waves through his government.
Many people in Hong Kong view today's speech as a test of whether Tung will make good on his promise to pay more heed to public opinion after he failed to pass an anti-subversion bill that prompted a 500,000-strong anti-government rally on July 1.
"Tung has been listening for half a year already. It's the time for him to speak and act on Hong Kong's democratic reforms," said opposition lawmaker Frederick Fung.
Even Tung's allies warn that the time is now for Tung to speak about concrete reforms, or face the public's fury, which could provoke a backlash from Beijing.
"He will become a lame duck if Hong Kong has massive demonstrations a few more times," Ma Lik, chairman of the top pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong. "That will make Beijing very worried and become more conservative on political reforms."
A former British colony, Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, but still maintains Western-style civil liberties. The territory's mini-constitution sets out full democracy as an eventual goal.
Still, Hong Kong's people are unable to choose their leader and many of its lawmakers directly.
Tung was picked by an 800-person committee loyal to Beijing. During the last polls, ordinary citizens only elected 24 out of Hong Kong's 60 lawmakers, with the rest chosen by special interest groups and the committee. The number of directly elected seats will increase to 30 in polls next September.
Since Tung fumbled on the security bill, which many dubbed a threat to freedoms, calls for democratic reform have grown louder.
Despite the July 1 protest and several other large demonstrations, Tung's government has been vague about political reforms, saying only that it would soon start public consultations on the matter.
Indeed, some Hong Kongers believe Tung would avoid controversy today, and remain tight-lipped on political reforms and relief measures for the once booming economy.
"Tung is simply an obstacle to Hong Kong's full democracy. I don't have any hope about such a leader," said Mung Chi-hung, an unemployed 38-year-old who took part in a pro-democracy march on Jan. 1.
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