LIBERAL PARTY CHIEF FLOATS IDEA OF A RULING PARTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 001417 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2031 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH SUBJECT: LIBERAL PARTY CHIEF FLOATS IDEA OF A RULING PARTY Classified By: E/P Chief Simon Schuchat. Reasons: 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On April 3, James Tien, Chairman of the pro-business Liberal Party (LP),proposed an amendment to an election bill currently under discussion by the Legislative Council, which would allow the winning Chief Executive (CE) candidate to retain his/her political party affiliation. Under current regulations, the winner of the CE Election is required to drop his/her party membership within seven workdays after the election. Tien's proposal, if approved, would strengthen the role of parties in politics and establish a "ruling party"; however, analysts predict that the proposal won't pass. Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam argued that an internal government survey indicated that 70 percent of Hong Kongers preferred to have an "independent" CE and said that the administration did not intend to amend the bill. End Summary. A "Ruling Party" -------------- ¶2. (C) On April 3, James Tien, Chairman of the pro-business Liberal Party (LP),proposed an amendment to the Chief Executive (CE) and Legislative Council (Legco) Elections (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2006 currently under discussion by the Legco Bills Committee, which would allow the winning CE candidate to retain his/her political party affiliation. Under Article 31 of the CE Election Ordinance 2001, the winner of the CE Election is required to drop his/her party membership within seven workdays after the election. The philosophy behind this provision was that the CE should operate above politics and not engage in party politics. The Democratic Party (DP) and the Civic Party (CP) have come out in support of Tien's proposal, while the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and The Alliance have come out against it. (Comment: The DAB has told us in private that it hopes to be the ruling party of Hong Kong at some point in the future. However, they are reluctant to state this publicly as Beijing has made clear that it is not in favor of party politics in Hong Kong. End Comment.) ¶3. (SBU) According to political analysts, Tien's proposal, which, if approved, would strengthen the role of political parties in politics by potentially establishing a "ruling party," has little chance of winning enough votes in Legco to pass. As an individual motion, Tien's amendment would require a simple majority in both the geographic and functional constituencies. With support from the DP and CP, the proposal would pass in the geographic constituency; but would not likely pass in the functional constituency. The other challenge is the possibility that Legco President Rita Fan might reject Tien's proposal and rule that the amendment goes beyond the scope of the "Miscellaneous Amendments" bill. The "Independent" Chief Executive -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Hong Kong Government (HKG) was not receptive to Tien's proposal. Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Stephen Lam contended that an internal government survey indicated that 70 percent of Hong Kongers preferred to have an "independent" CE and said that the administration did not intend to amend the bill. The HKG had expected easy passage of the bill, as it covered technical and administrative issues for the CE and Legco elections. The government may argue that there is insufficient time to discuss this issue before the district council and CE Election Committee elections this year. The bill is due for a second reading on May 10. ¶5. (C) The "Hong Kong Economic Journal" speculated that Tien is considering a possible bid for the CE position in 2007 and is using this proposal as a means to test Beijing's support for him. (Note: Many believe that Beijing has still not forgiven Tien for his surprise resignation from the Executive Council in 2003 which led to the scuttling of the government's national security legislation. End Note.) Tien told the "Sing Pao" on April 4 that he had been approached by the Central Government's Liaison Office (CGLO). They were interested in trying to understand his motives in proposing his amendment to the bill, said Tien. He emphasized that the CGLO had not asked him to withdraw his proposal. Cunningham