ANSON CHAN FORMS CORE GROUP, AGAIN DECLINES TO

UNCLAS HONG KONG 002950

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINR CH HK
SUBJECT: ANSON CHAN FORMS CORE GROUP, AGAIN DECLINES TO
ANNOUNCE ELECTION PLANS


1. (SBU) Summary: In a July 19 speech, former Hong Kong
Chief Secretary Anson Chan once again declined to say whether
she would enter the 2007 Chief Executive election. Instead,
she discussed the Basic Law's provision of a legal basis for
universal suffrage and criticized attempts to establish new
pre-conditions for its extension. She said opponents of
democratization needed to change their positions, while the
pro-democracy groups had to address concerns that a
democratically-elected government would be "anti-business"
and endanger the city's prosperity and stability through
excessive social welfare. She also noted the "difficult to
dispel" concern that a democratically elected government
would be more likely to challenge the authority of the
Central Government. Chan said she was forming a "core group"
to "formulate more concrete proposals and map out a strategy
on the way forward." End Summary.


2. (SBU) On July 19, retired former Hong Kong Chief Secretary
Anson Chan once again declined to announce -- or to rule out
-- her intention to contest the 2007 Chief Executive
election. In a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club,
Chan said she had no intention to confront either the Hong
Kong Administration or the Central Government, and also that
she had "no personal agenda" and was not "hungry for power."
That said, however, she observed that she felt "duty bound to
practice what I preach." She briefly reviewed Hong Kong's
recent history, including the drafting of the Basic Law and
the "too little, too late" steps taken by the British
colonial administration to expand democratization. She went
into some detail on key provisions of the Basic Law that, she
believed, "enshrine the concept that truly democratic
governments cannot exist other than on the basis of universal
suffrage." She particularly noted that "universal and equal
suffrage" was not interchangeable with the idea of some sort
of "engineered balanced representation" as a justification
for retaining Hong Kong's Functional Constituencies
indefinitely.


3. (SBU) Chan criticized attempts by "certain quarters" to
establish new pre-conditions for universal suffrage --
"placing ever more hurdles along the track." She said Hong
Kong's business community and other sectors "who feel they
have a vested interest in fending off democracy for as long
as possible" needed to change their positions. At the same
time, the pro-democracy groups would have to address some of
the popular "myths and concerns" that a
democratically-elected government would be "anti-business"
and endanger the city's prosperity and stability through
excessive social welfare. She also noted another concern,
which she described as "misplaced" but difficult to dispel:
that a democratically elected government would be more likely
to challenge the authority of the Central Government. Chan
criticized the constitutional reform package proposed by
Chief Executive Tsang and blocked by the Legco democrats in
late-2005, which she said would have done no more than
"tinker with" the electoral arrangements for the 2007 and
2008 elections. She specifically faulted that proposal's
lack of a timetable and roadmap for democratization, as well
as its failure to address the role of the Functional
Constituencies. She also noted the need for a firmer legal
foundation for the role of political parties in the Hong Kong
system. In conclusion, Chan said there was "much work to be
done and I would like to play whatever part I usefully can."
She said she was forming a "core group" to "formulate more
concrete proposals and map out a strategy on the way
forward." She concluded that she intends to "play an active
role and you can expect to hear more from me on this issue in
the months and years ahead."


4. (SBU) Immediately following her speech, Chan took
questions from the audience and then met with the large press
contingent. As expected, the first audience question was
whether she would enter the 2007 Chief Executive race; she
replied that she would choose a time and place to announce
whether she was standing or not standing. Similarly, at the
press briefing Chan said in Cantonese that she would announce
her decision at "an appropriate time." She also elaborated
on her formation of a core group, which would include 8-10
people with two primary objectives: to address public
concerns over political reform, and to present a package of
workable reform proposals to the Commission on Strategic
Development.
Sakaue