Hong Kong’s pan-dems and localists accused of delaying tactics after lawmakers fail to elect panel heads

Legislators run out of time after querying proceedings during chaotic scenes in Legco last week

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Ma Fung-kwok votes during the Legco development panel meeting on Tuesday. Photo: David Wong

Published: 10:30pm, 18 Oct 2016Updated: 12:23am, 19 Oct 2016

Pan-democratic and localist lawmakers were accused of delaying tactics on Tuesday as bickering members still smarting from controversies on the first day of the Legislative Council term last week ran out of time to elect chairmen for five of Legco’s 18 panels.

After the storm surrounding the election of the Legco president and the modified oaths issued by localists, and consequently rejected, as new lawmakers were sworn in, some legislators wanted to revisit the issues before moving on to vote for the panel heads.

At the first such meeting, for the security panel, pan-democrat Leung Yiu-chung repeatedly asked the Legco secretariat to clarify his own role as chairman of the proceedings given the way events unfolded last week during the election of the Legco president.

He was joined by localist Lau Siu-lai and a few others in questioning the secretariat. The query continued as the second panel started to meet in the room opposite. Leung was then forced to adjourn the security panel meeting as there were not enough councillors present.

“The pro-Beijing camp is trying to take all chairman posts. They are bullying the pan-democratic camp,” Leung said after the meeting ended without a vote.

“The Legco secretariat since last week has not clearly explained to me what power the chairman who chaired the president’s election had, and whether the lawmakers whose oaths were rejected are qualified to vote here.”