Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HONGKONG1417
2006-04-04 11:30:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Hong Kong
Cable title:  

LIBERAL PARTY CHIEF FLOATS IDEA OF A RULING PARTY

Tags:  PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH 
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VZCZCXRO1547
PP RUEHCN
DE RUEHHK #1417 0941130
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 041130Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5930
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
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).

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