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Pro-China politician to head future Hong Kong legislature

street January 25, 1997
Web posted at: 12:43 p.m. EST (1743 GMT)

SHENZHEN, China (CNN) -- Hong Kong's democratic future may have suffered a blow Saturday. The legislature that will draw up Hong Kong's laws after the city reverts to Chinese control elected a pro-Beijing politician as its president.

Voting by secret ballot in its first-ever meeting, the 60-member China-appointed legislature narrowly chose former Hong Kong legislator Rita Fan as its leader.

Fan, 54, is key player in committees overseeing the process leading to Hong Kong's handover from Britain to the People's Republic of China at midnight on June 30.

Fan collected 33 votes while her only rival, Andrew Wong -- president of the current Legislative Council -- received 27. As president, Fan becomes the key arbiter in legislative debates, much like the role of a speaker in parliament.

The vote was held in Shenzhen to avoid legal challenges to its legitimacy in Hong Kong, where opponents have branded it illegal. Journalists observed the historic legislative session via closed-circuit television.

'Not a question of human rights'

The meeting took place as a rift between China and the outgoing colonial power, Britain, has intensified. Britain has criticized Beijing for its plans to limit civil liberties after Hong Kong becomes a Special Administrative Region of China on July 1.

The session also came a day after Hong Kong's future leader, Tung Chee-hwa, named his future Cabinet. Tung has stood by Beijing's Hong Kong policies.

"It is not a question of human rights," he said. "It is a question about getting the right balance between order of social stability on one side and the rights of individuals on the other."

But Martin Lee, chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, says Tung has it all wrong. "He should explain our position to China instead of trying to defend the indefensible."

Controversial legislature

Fan's job in the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or SAR, will be highly controversial, because she will be heading a legislature whose legal credentials may be challenged by Hong Kong's pro-democracy groups and by Britain.

Britain has challenged Beijing to allow the World Court in The Hague to rule on whether the provisional legislature violates the treaty governing the transfer of sovereignty.

Earlier in the week, a fresh quarrel flared as Britain attacked China over a plan to roll back Hong Kong's Bill of Rights and laws on freedom of association. The Amnesty International human rights group said China would use the changes to restrict freedom.

China fended off the protests, calling them unwise.

The job of repealing parts of the Bill of Rights and laws on public order and the formation of political parties will be one of the first tasks of the provisional legislature headed by Fan.

China's top official on Hong Kong, Lu Ping, said the change in civil liberty laws was necessary.

"There are laws which the SAR government needs to amend or repeal -- the Public Order Ordinance, for instance, which gives freedom only to a small group of people while it affects the rights of the majority," Lu told reporters after attending Saturday's session.

Hong Kong Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy and Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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