FORMER LEGCO PRESIDENT DISCUSSES HONG KONG'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002213

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2033
TAGS: PGOV PREL HK CH
SUBJECT: FORMER LEGCO PRESIDENT DISCUSSES HONG KONG'S
POLITICAL CHALLENGES

Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (C) Summary: Former Hong Kong Legislative Council (LegCo)
President Rita Fan sees Chief Executive (CE) Donald Tsang's
reluctance to accept LegCo's legitimate role in Hong Kong's
governance as the main cause of the deteriorating
legislative-executive relationship. Fan argues it is a
politician, not a businessman or bureaucrat, that Hong Kong
needs as CE. Despite the current difficulties, Fan is
confident even upstart members of LegCo will come to
recognize resorting to theatrics for attention will cost them
the respect of the public. Hong Kong government officials
often resist Hong Kong National People's Congress (NPC)
deputies' offers to raise issues with the central government,
claiming they have their own established channels to Beijing.
End summary.


2. (C) Comment: Although widely-seen as pro-government, Fan
as LegCo President enjoyed the esteem of the entire political
spectrum for her neutrality on political issues and fair and
adept administration of LegCo. Fan went as far as to
forswear voting during her 11-year tenure (1997-2008) to
avoid taking sides. Although politically sensible, this
stance made it difficult to gauge Fan's real views. Her
frank observations at this meeting offered a unique glimpse
into Fan's thinking, the close attention she still pays to
local politics, and her genuine concern that the Hong Kong
people are not getting the highest quality of governance.
Though her future plans are not known, and her role with the
NPC Standing Committee regarding Hong Kong is not clear, Fan
remains an important figure in Hong Kong politics. End
comment.

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Hong Kong's Past Partly Explains Current Tensions
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3. (C) During a December 4 meeting with the Consul General,
former Legislative Council (LegCo) President and current Hong
Kong deputy on the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing
Committee Rita Fan shared her views on Hong Kong's current
political tensions, leadership shortcomings, and constraints
Hong Kong NPC deputies face. Responding to the CG's question
about her view of LegCo's role in the current political
climate, Fan said the collegial relationship which existed
between the last colonial government and LegCo has broken
down, producing the current tense relationship. While Hong
Kong's British-appointed Governor had the final say, behind
closed doors the colonial government actively consulted with
legislators and was genuinely receptive to their input.
Given that past level of participation (which many LegCo
veterans experienced personally) and the fact that half of
the legislators are popularly elected, it is only natural
that legislators want to have more say now. Fan also thinks
it is equally natural for the (unelected) government to feel
insecure about sharing its power, particularly with
"opposition" lawmakers. The result is a fundamental
disagreement about the two entities' legitimate political
roles, and Fan sees the divide growing.


4. (C) Everyone accepts the goal is to elect the Chief
Executive (CE) by universal suffrage in 2017, but the
question is how does Hong Kong get there? Fan questioned
whether LegCo, particularly the pan-democrats, and CE Tsang
can reach consensus on the composition of the nominating
committee for the CE and the future of the functional
constituency (FC) seats. (Note: The 30 FC seats are selected
by and represent key business, professional, and social
sectors. Electorates are small, with some seats chosen by
less than 200 people. End note.) Besides these technical
differences, Fan sees a more fundamental debate emerging,
which is whether a weak government will "do the right thing."
(Comment: Fan did not specify, but her subsequent comments
on the need for the CE to be open-minded and willing to
compromise suggest she defines demonstrating those traits as
the "right" course of action. End comment.) The
pro-government Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and
Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) has shown an increasing
willingness to criticize the government, Fan pointed out,
which further suggests the government can no longer depend on
automatic support for its proposals.


5. (C) The government's political difficulties could be
easily solved, Fan asserted. The CE needs only to
demonstrate he has a willing ear to good ideas from all parts
of the plitical spectrum. Showing respect and acknowledgig
the contribution of legislators to proposals te government
ultimately adopts will go a long wa in improving
LegCo-executive relations. Fan reclled the time when Tsang
as Financial Secretary ublicly credited all the legislators,

HONG KONG 00002213 002 OF 002


including the pan-democrats, for their input to developing
the following year's budget. The legislators unanimously
welcomed his comments. Legislators are no longer in LegCo
because the government appointed them, Fan says, and must now
answer to the people who elected them. The CE can help by
simply giving them credit when they deserve it so they in
turn can demonstrate to their constituents they are
fulfilling their duty. "After all," said Fan, "isn't that
the first rule of democracy?"

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What Hong Kong Needs is a Politician
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6. (C) Fan sees a politician as someone who is willing and
able to work with many different groups of people,
compromising when necessary but always able to make everyone
feel included and appreciated. Neither a bureaucrat nor
businessman has those traits, Fan argued. (Note: CE Tsang was
a career civil servant and former CE C.H. Tung is a shipping
magnate. End note.) A businessman controlling a large
corporation expects underlings to serve "the top" without any
consideration for proper acknowledgment or appreciation. The
same mentality applies to high-level bureaucrats, Fan
contends, who expect their staff to simply execute their
policies with little regard for their views.


7. (C) The LegCo-executive relationship is now dominated by
emotion, Fan noted. Inappropriate rhetoric is often used,
and the administration feels it is being attacked from all
sides. The administration sees appearing in LegCo as a
"ghastly" experience, further discouraging them to engage
more with legislators. If the government is reluctant to
consult LegCo, the CG inquired, is there a risk of
legislators increasingly resorting to political stunts and
obstruction to attract attention? Fan was confident
legislators would not do so since most Hong Kong people are
not willing to accept such behavior. She has faith that even
League of Social Democrats firebrand Raymond "Mad Dog" Wong
will soon recognize that LegCo as an organization will lose
the public's respect if members exhibit distasteful behavior.
(Note: Wong most recently threw bananas at the CE during
the CE's October Policy Address at LegCo. End note.)

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NPC Deputies and SARG: Two Roads to Beijing
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8. (C) Although the only Hong Kong member of the National
People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, Rita downplayed
her role, describing herself simply as "a small bridge"
between Hong Kong and Mainland China. She tries to serve
that role by reflecting Hong Kong people's views and
advocating for Hong Kong's needs, but she and her 35 fellow
Hong Kong NPC deputies do that without the Hong Kong
government's cooperation. Upon further probing by the CG,
Fan explained that the government does not keep the NPC
deputies informed of its plans and rarely seeks their input.
At most, the government may meet the deputies twice a year.
Fan contends that even when the deputies specifically ask the
administration if there are issues they might raise with
Beijing, the administration usually declines on the grounds
that they have their own channels. Responding to the CG's
question whether that runs the risk of the deputies and the
government sending Beijing contradictory messages, Fan was
confident the central government uses its "many channels" to
stay on top of Hong Kong developments.
DONOVAN