Carrie Lam to ask for meetings between Hong Kong's pan-democrat lawmakers and Beijing officials
City's No 2 pledges to pass along request from opposition lawmaker for meeting but stresses there will be no change to reform package
Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has pledged to relay a lawmaker's call for a meeting between pan-democratic legislators and Beijing officials in charge of political reform.
Frederick Fung Kin-kee, of the Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, said he made the suggestion during a 35-minute meeting with Lam yesterday morning.
Lam is lobbying pan-democrats to back the government's package on reform for the 2017 chief executive election. The government needs votes from four pan-democrats to secure the necessary two-thirds majority to pass the package after the camp's 27 lawmakers vowed to reject it. Fung, considered a moderate, is one of Lam's lobbying targets.
"I asked Mrs Lam to arrange for discussions with the central government officials just like we did last year. I didn't name anyone. As long as it is a person in charge of the reform matters I'm fine," Fung said, referring to the pan-democrats' meeting in August with Zhang Xiaoming , the director of Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong.
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"I understand the central government is very worried about the impact on national security of giving Hong Kong universal suffrage … So I hope to meet the central government officials directly and discuss and analyse the issue together," he said.
The Hong Kong government is expected to unveil a reform package on Wednesday based on a framework announced by the National People's Congress Standing Committee last summer. Pan-democrats say the framework is restrictive and will mean voters will not have a real choice of candidates in 2017.
Fung said Lam promised to pass on his request. But Lam reiterated that the package for 2017 was finalised and there would be no last-minute changes.
Lam's promise came after Premier Li Keqiang expressed confidence that issues surrounding Hong Kong's political reform could be settled despite recent protests, because the city's government was capable and its residents were wise.
Li made the remarks in a March 31 interview with Britain's , conducted at the Hong Kong hall of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The interview was published yesterday.
He was asked about the prospects of Hong Kong's legislature adopting the government's political reform package and if he was worried about further problems or student unrest in the city.
Li said: "In spite of what happened recently in Hong Kong, we believe that past progress has shown that the principle of 'one country, two systems' is the right way to take and that Hong Kong will maintain long-term stability and prosperity."
The premier then drew attention to a picture in the hall of Hong Kong's skyline at night, and said it carried three key messages about the city.
"The 'one country, two systems' principle has strong vitality, the Hong Kong SAR government has full capability and the Hong Kong residents have their wisdom," Li said. "We believe all issues can be properly settled."
Ip Kin-yuen, the legislator representing the education sector, said he told Lam during a separate meeting yesterday it was "inevitable" he would vote down the government's blueprint if there was no change to the Standing Committee's decision.
But Ip said Lam did not raise to him the possibility of meeting mainland officials.
