Pan-democrats try to delay funding requests amid electoral reform stand-off
Aim of 'non-cooperation campaign' is to block all except livelihood items
Pan-democrats have begun a "campaign of non-cooperation" over political reform with the aim of holding up all requests for public funding unless they are related to people's livelihood.
The pan-democratic lawmakers' first offensive - a motion raised by the Labour Party's Lee Cheuk-yan to adjourn the Finance Committee's first meeting since the summer break - was, however, defeated by the pro-establishment camp in a vote after a heated debate.
The pan-democrats then changed tack by delaying individual funding items - the first being for a food-waste treatment facility - with People Power's Chan Chi-chuen tabling an adjournment motion.
Pro-government lawmakers blocked that motion in another vote.
The Finance Committee was meeting yesterday to discuss 18 items carried over from its last session before the summer break, which had been marred by filibustering.
Topping its agenda were five separate requests for funding for waste infrastructure, including landfill extensions and a plan to build an incinerator.
At the end of the four-hour meeting, no decisions had been reached on any of the items put to a vote, as lawmakers still had questions to raise.
To minimise the impact of the non-cooperation campaign, pan-democrats suggested having a "human corridor" to allow livelihood-related funding requests - such as the civil service pay rise and welfare benefits for the disadvantaged - to be scrutinised and voted on first.
Controversial items deemed too sensitive amid the city's current tense political atmosphere, such as the landfill extensions, should be accorded lower priority, they said.
Lee said it would be wise for the government to put a brake on its funding requests for the time being, as it had lost its legitimacy to govern the city after its crackdown on the peaceful Occupy Central street protests.
"The government owes us an explanation on its use of tear gas, the triad attacks on protesters, and the police beating of protesters," he said. "Under these circumstances, the government has no legitimacy to table any funding request."
Chan demanded that the committee chairman and officials reprioritise the requests, by moving the less sensitive livelihood items up the list.
"We have already offered you the best bargain by saying we should handle the livelihood items first," he said. "If you don't entertain this, we will file a motion to adjourn each item of the funding requests."
Chan likened the waste infrastructure requests to barricades blocking the livelihood items from being approved for funding.
But committee chairman Tommy Cheung Yu-yan rejected the suggestion to reprioritise the requests, saying he was not prepared to do so.
Starry Lee Wai-king, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, slammed the pan-democrats for hijacking the meeting and inflicting "minority violence" on the committee. "What is good for society is now being turned into a bargaining chip."
The Liberal Party's James Tien Pei-chun said: "Handling the funding requests has nothing to do with the pending dialogue between the students and the government."
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Chan Ka-keung said further delaying the funding requests could cause the costs of infrastructure to rise.
The projected cost of the waste infrastructure had already gone up by HK$1.3 billion, to HK$30.5 billion, since the committee failed to process the items in its previous meeting, he said. Only HK$3.6 billion of capital works projects were approved last year, compared with HK$90 billion the year before, he added.
Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing said the waste infrastructure projects were also an important livelihood issue. He warned that any delays would be a matter of years, not months. An extended tender for the food-waste treatment facility would expire in January, he noted.
