A view of Hong Kong. Photo: VCG

Hong Kong's next Legislative Council (LegCo) will not be a "rubber stamp" legislature and the city's next chief executive must serve with determination and act with no thought of personal gain, former LegCo president, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, who is also a member of the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview. 

Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai. Photo: VCG

Fan said the previous LegCo had descended into a place where lawmakers "objected for the purpose of objection," and even colluded with street violence. She added that the true purpose of free speech is to solve problems in a rational way rather than opposing each other violently.

The LegCo elections, which were the first of their kind since the city implemented electoral reform to ensure those who govern the city are patriots, successfully concluded on Monday with high praise from top officials in the mainland and in Hong Kong, and local residents. 

Fair & open process 

Some foreign media outlets, citing escaped secessionists and former lawmakers like Ted Hui, said that the legislature will be "a total rubber stamp with no democratic elements at all." 

Those who claimed that the 7th LegCo will become a "rubber stamp" legislature lack a basic understanding of history, said Fan, the first president of the LegCo after the city returned to the motherland. 

Back in 1997 when she took the position of  president of the interim legislature, all the lawmakers were elected by the HKSAR's selection committee. If we follow the mentality of today's critics, then interim legislature should have been a complete "rubber stamp" assembly and should have done whatever the government had said, she noted. 

"But the reality was that the then-government of the time asked to abolish certain laws and after the discussion of the interim legislature, we reserved some and amended and abolished others," Fan said.

Also, in a recent statement issued by the Five Eyes alliance countries, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US voiced their "grave concerns" over the "erosion of the democratic elements of the HKSAR electoral system." On their part, the G7 and EU voiced similar "concerns" saying that a vetting process which was needed to ensure those who run for the election are patriots "severely restricts the choice of candidates." 

"Of course, we have to set up a threshold. How could traitors or those who invited the US to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs become our lawmakers?" Fan asked, noting that the US would never let an unpatriotic candidate to become a congressman. Also, this vetting mechanism is not new in Hong Kong, as "previously, it was the returning officer who decided eligibility, which is our current job at the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee," she said.  

Some elected members of the 7th-term Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region visit the chamber of the Legislative Council on December 23, 2021. Photo: IC

Some Western countries criticized the LegCo elections and the so-called erosion of the democracy in Hong Kong by pointing to the absence of dozens of political figures from the opposition, as most elected lawmakers are considered to be pro-establishment figures. 

"There were, in total, 154 candidates who signed up to run in the election and 153 were approved by the committee. One candidate was rejected, not for any political reason but because the person is a government staffer and could not run in accordance with the elections ordinance," Fan said, noting that among those 153 candidates, some are known as pan-democratic figures.

We have not seen their apparent unpatriotic tendency, so they all passed the committee's review while there's only one pro-democratic candidate elected, Fan said. 

Although most elected lawmakers are considered to be pro-establishment, they do not completely agree with the HKSAR government, Fan noted, adding that "most of the time, they are heading toward the same direction but have different opinions on specific issues."  

Also, pro-establishment figures represent the different interests of diverse social groups such as labor rights or investment in business. That is why we need the LegCo to be a place for free speech, without violence and for rational discussion designed to solve problems. 

"If they oppose each other only for the sake of opposing, it will cause unnecessary hassles for Hong Kong," Fan said. 

I hope that the next LegCo can really serve the local people and the HKSAR government will remain objective in clearly distinguishing right and wrong while holding a broader perspective with all the lawmakers to help the city further integrate into the country's development plan. This is indeed beneficial for Hong Kong, Fan remarked. 

While the LegCo elections have been concluded, the next important election is the one for Chief Executive (CE). No matter who the next CE is, that person will face up to challenges and tackle some deeply-rooted problems that have not been solved for many years. For example, improving housing conditions, Fan noted, adding that the CE "will also be the person who will confront US-led interference, as some Western countries will not stop attempting to contain China for at least the next 10 years." 

In the eyes of this senior Hong Kong official, the US-led attacks on Hong Kong's electoral system essentially reflect the concerns and worries of Washington, which takes Beijing as a threat to its hegemony. "But history tells us those attacks are not sustainable," Fan added. 

Whoever the next CE is, that person must act with no thought of personal gains or losses. Praised or criticized, that person must be determined and capable to get things done, Fan said. 

Changes in HK LegCo election after electoral reform.Graphic:Global Times