Frustrated Hong Kong NPC rep Lee to quit

A Hong Kong delegate to China's legislature said yesterday he would quit his post because he could not effectively lobby for the territory's interests in Beijing.

Allen Lee (李鵬飛), a member of the National People's Congress (NPC), said he felt frustrated that he couldn't move the lawmaking body to improve its transparency or establish an office in Hong Kong to handle complaints.

"I don't have the heart to continue with my work as an NPC delegate," Lee said on the radio show Teacup in the Storm. "I can't achieve the things citizens want me to."

Lee is a former lawmaker and former chairman of the pro-government Liberal Party.

Many Hong Kongers are clamoring for full democracy, but the Chinese legislature's top panel ruled last month that it won't allow full direct elections in Hong Kong, purportedly because political and economic problems might erupt.

Lee said that wasn't why he was quitting, but noted that "the political atmosphere is getting more and more depressing" amid the heated fight over democratic reforms.

The Beijing and Hong Kong governments fear they will lose control of Hong Kong's legislature in September elections because of the rising popularity of the democracy camp. Some locals have said their mainland relatives are lobbying them to vote for Beijing's allies, but China has denied meddling.

Meanwhile, vandals dumped a plastic bag of excrement outside a pro-democracy lawmaker's office yesterday in an attack that comes amid a rising tide of threats against pro-democracy figures, police said.

The meter-square bag was found leaking its foul contents outside the office of legislator Leung Yiu-chung (梁耀忠) in an industrial area of Kowloon.

The attack was believed to be linked to Leung's comments critical of China. Leung said the attack was politically motivated.

"These people who disagree with us really want to send us a message that they want us to be quiet," he said. "But I won't be frightened into being quiet."

Police were investigating the incident, a spokeswoman said.

The attack, the second of its kind since high-profile lawmaker Emily Lau's (劉慧卿) office was similarly vandalized last year, is the latest in a string of intimidatory acts against leading democrats.

Two popular radio talkshow hosts have resigned after receiving death threats for being outspoken against Beijing and legislator Frederick Fung (馮檢基) has vowed to tone down his rhetoric after he received threats of violence in the post.