[Legislative Council] How to become a mud wrestling field from a lip battle to a body collision

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Author: Hao Ziyu

2020-07-19 19:00

On July 23, 2016, the then President of the Legislative Council, Jasper Tsang, adjourned the meeting: "Bless Hong Kong, Hong Kong must win!" At this point, the fifth session of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong ended. Four years of ups and downs fuse together in a large group photo, a smile and envy. Four years later, on July 17, the sixth session of the Legislative Council was formally ended. The group photo in the Chamber only left 40 institutional factions, because the democrats refused to join them and moved to the Legislative Council underground. Farewell.

Looking back at this session of the Legislative Council, especially this year, the two camps can be described as "not sharing the sky". "Boring abuse" and "body collision" have also become the new normal-why did it change? Will it continue to sink? The former Chairman of the Legislative Council, Fan Xu Litai, the former Secretary of the Transport and Housing Bureau, Zhang Bingliang, and the Democratic Alliance for Development, Liang Zhixiang, who are no longer competing for re-election as members of the Legislative Council, gave their views on the "Chairman", "Official" and "Member of Parliament" respectively. "Hong Kong-style parliamentary culture" view.

Fan Xu Litai Zhenzhen said that extra care must be taken in the position of the Legislative Council in order to make people "cannot pick out the bones". (Photo by Huang Shuhui)

If the chairman does not participate in the game, will he be shocked step by step?

Fan Xu Litai served as the Provisional Legislative Council and the President of the Legislative Council from 1997 to 2008. He was also the most supportive member of the Legislative Council in a survey conducted by the Hong Kong University Public Opinion Research Project from 2005 to 2008. She recalled with a smile that there were always some members who spoke loudly at the meeting, making the whole meeting "messy". When she persuaded them not to be so loud, "Who knows that the loud voice does not mean that I have no reason. I It also responded humorously, that doesn’t mean you have any reason.” So she asked her colleagues to buy a sound measuring instrument and put it on the rostrum. Once the voice of the speaker exceeds a certain decibel, the noise level will be reached. Stop the speech of the MP. At this moment, Fan Tai's expression suddenly became serious, indicating that he must always be very careful in the position of chairman. She bluntly said that she was the least willing to cooperate with "damp" people. Although members like "long-haired" were slightly "rude", she preferred this kind of "direct" style.

Fan Tai bluntly said that in the chairman's position, he has to face everyone's eyes and be examined for bias, so he needs to be extra careful to make people "unable to pick out the bones." And this little thing is just one of many events that act as "alarm bells." It turned out that the President of the Legislative Council was not only a "host", but also had to face the "dangerous situation" of "step by step alarm" in order not to be involved in the party struggle. Fan Tai said that the status of the chairman reminded her that she must "hold back" in two ways: one is that she does not express personal opinions about the affairs or bills of the parliament; the other is that the chairman should not expect to express herself, its duty is to make the meeting run smoothly Not "personal show".

Liang Junyan said that working with Members "has both color and sparks, and both satisfaction and regret." (Photo/Photo by Zhang Haowei)

"But I also like "playing". In the year when I was elected chairman in 2000, the main democrats were the Democratic Party and the front. I asked Martin (Li Zhuming) and Emily (Liu Huiqing) whether they would nominate me, Martin Say: You’re doing well, but I can’t nominate you! Emily also said: Rita, you’re really awkward for me, how can I nominate you? There is no change in it—everyone knows. So I just play, and everyone jokes with each other.” Fan laughed too much, like a child who did a prank. This experience also reflects some of the tensions and realities in the parliament. As the current Legislative Council Chairman Liang Junyan said in response to a reporter’s question: "In the political arena, parliamentarians have different roles and different political spaces. I understand."

The above excerpt is from the 223th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly News (July 20, 2020) "How to become a mud wrestling field from the battle of lips and tongue to the collision of the body." To read the full text, please click here to subscribe to the weekly report, or click here to preview the weekly e-newsletter for more in-depth reports.

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