Activist fights against government 'takeover' of .hk domain names
Corporate gadfly David Webb is campaigning against the government's bid for greater control over the top-level '.hk' domain name.
Through his webb-site.com, the former investment banker yesterday issued an 'urgent appeal' against a government 'takeover' of the name, saying it might endanger freedom of speech.
Members of the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation, which administers .hk domain names, will meet on Saturday to vote on changing its board structure. Mr Webb is pressing them to vote against greater government representation on the board.
'If user members vote to slash their own board representation, they will be surrendering democracy and opening the registry to potential political interference,' the webpage said.
The government has pledged to implement recommendations from a consultation paper issued last year, and cut the number of corporation directors from 13 to eight. Half would be government appointees, and just two would come from .hk users.
At present, the government appoints only one director, while six directors come from .hk users.
The tightened control by the government is seen as a response to allegations that directors had been pushing sector interests rather than working for the broader good of the city.
There are more than 1,200 corporation members, but not all are expected to turn out to vote on Saturday.
Mr Webb's website says corporation directors have failed to justify the need for greater government control.
But the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer said yesterday there was 'no question of government control' of the corporation.
'The proposed institutional arrangements are to take forward the recommendations arising from the consultancy study in late 2006, followed by a public consultation in 2007,' a spokeswoman said. 'The aim is to improve the current framework and the administration of .hk internet domain names so as to maximise benefits for the Hong Kong community.
'This mix of appointed and member-elected directors allows the board to expand the available pool from those who solely have a strong interest in .hk domain-name issues to a wider set of qualified, professional non-executives.'
The chief executive of the corporation, Jonathan Shea, said the government-appointed directors would act independently in the best interests of the company and the public, not on behalf of the government.
The new board would consist of four directors appointed by the government and four elected directors, he said.
A new consultative and advisory panel would also be set up to engage stakeholders to advise the board on issues such as domain name registration rules, pricing and internal governance, he said. 'Therefore, the new board will fulfil fiduciary duties in the best interests of the company.'
A spokeswoman for the corporation said it would issue a statement on the matter today.
