Vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive (2013/10/16)

Deputy President, over the past year, Membersof the pan-democratic camp have proposed many motions regarding the performanceof the Chief Executive and certain public officers, which have been discussedin this Council. These include motions demanding the Chief Executive orDirectors of Bureaux to step down or urging this Council to invoke theLegislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance for setting up a select committeeto inquire into matters relating to the officers concerned. I do not object toproposing such motions at the appropriate time because this Council is responsiblefor monitoring the Government and it is also a platform for the public topursue their rights. However, there were already three motions and demands forinquiries regarding the Chief Executive within a year. Such unusual circumstancesmake people think that things are getting personal rather than being directedat the facts. As reflected in the debates, most of the problems were not asserious as what some of the media or some Members had thought, and the motionswere all negatived.

 

Today, Dr KWOK Ka-ki has again proposed a“Vote of no confidence in the Chief Executive”. I will not support this motionbecause I think people have repeatedly been lingering on the question of theperformance of the Chief Executive within too short a period of time. Whetherit is a vote of no confidence or a demand for him to step down, it is not verymeaningful. It will not help resolve the current problems of Hong Kong in anysubstantial way, but will only add fuel to the fire. It will intensify the internalconflicts, weaken the Government's authority in governance and delay policyplans which may eventually result in a crisis of governance.

 

Deputy President, with the current globaleconomic downturn, every government in the world is trying hard to develop itseconomy so that recession will not set in. However, as the Government of theHong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) has adopted a non-interventionpolicy over the years,many deep-rooted problems, including poverty, housing, employment, livelihoodand planning, have now come to the surface. These problems need to be resolvedwith the concerted efforts of the Chief Executive, Secretaries of Departments,Directors of Bureaux and Members of this Council. A consensus has to be reachedin formulating measures for facilitating economic growth and improving thelivelihood and welfare of the people, so that Hong Kong's competitiveness inthe international market and its social stability can be maintained.

 

We haveto face many problems and most of them are not unique to Hong Kong. Everyeconomy in the world is suffering the aftermath of the economic shock. In theface of this difficult situation, any responsible government would need tosolicit the support of its people to face the difficulties positively. I rememberthat during the financial turmoil in 1998, the South Korean Government hadsucceeded in setting aside its differences with the people and they joinedhands in facing the difficulties together. As a result, South Korea has becomeone of the economies with the most stable economic development in the worldwithin a short period of 10 years or so.

 

On thecontrary, Hong Kong used to have a lot of advantages after the change ofsovereignty in 1997. Under the support of the Mainland, Hong Kong does not haveto pay for expenses in defence and foreign affairs and there are lots ofeconomic interactions with the Mainland. Therefore, the Hong Kong Governmenthas been maintaining a steady revenue over the years and it has the necessaryresources for resolving livelihood problems and developing its economy.However, why is there so much dissatisfaction in our community? Admittedly, theineffectiveness of the Government's measures and the inadequacies of somepublic officers have contributed to the problem. The Government shouldtherefore bear most of the responsibility. However, as Members of theLegislative Council, will we reflect on whether we have given the ChiefExecutive and the accountability officials enough time and room to perform?

 

Nowadays,Members would arbitrarily propose motions of no confidence in the ChiefExecutive and demand Directors of Bureaux to step down. Those who aredissatisfied with the Government think that the Government well deserves suchtreatment and they would give a helping hand in that direction too.

Underthis kind of political atmosphere and pressure, we notice that many public officershave become paranoid and found themselves caught in a quandary. When a problemarises, be it big or small, they would, in trying to appease grievances, tirethemselves out in paying visits to give explanations or hastily introduce somead hoc measures to stop a crisis. As a result, medium and long-term measureswhich should have been implemented are adversely affected and only stop-gap andpiecemeal measures have been introduced. We should understand that withoutlong-term planning, the biggest loss will be reflected in the overalldevelopment of Hong Kong.

 

DeputyPresident, according to an opinion poll recently conducted in the end ofSeptember by the University of Hong Kong, the popularity rating of the ChiefExecutive scores 49.4, which has risen by 3.7 when compared to last month. Thepercentage of support has risen by 6% while the percentage of opposition hasdropped by 7% and the difficult situation in governance is temporarily eased.Regarding the SAR Government, the percentage of satisfaction has risen by 3%and the percentage of dissatisfaction has dropped by 7% when compared to lastmonth. I agree with what Dr CHIANG Lai-wan said in the last meeting and thatis, during the break of this Council over the last two months, the ChiefExecutive and public officers could spend less time in dealing with certainmeaningless subjects for discussion and so they could spare more time in doingreal work. As a result, the credibility of the Government can be built upgradually.

 

DeputyPresident, while the Government is primarily responsible for the progress ofHong Kong, the Legislative Council should give public officers and the ChiefExecutive enough room during the monitoring process so that they can focus ongoverning according to the law, improving the livelihood of the people andpromoting economic development. I hope that Members of different politicalparties and affiliations can put aside their differences and refrain from politicizingevery issue. I also hope that Members will not let the governance crisis of theGovernment to continue or allow Hong Kong to be stranded in never-endingarguments.

 

Withthese remarks, Deputy President, I am against the original motion.