Suggestions made in 1996 to set unified standards for information technology sector voters, IT veteran says

Professor Wong Kam-fai made comment after minister urged such a move in wake of arrest of 72 people over alleged vote-rigging in IT functional constituency poll

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Professor Wong Kam-fai says the idea of setting unified standards was first made 21 years ago. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 6:09pm, 9 Apr 2017Updated: 8:46pm, 9 Apr 2017

Suggestions to set unified standards for approving the eligibility of voters for the Legislative Council’s information technology functional constituency were made by industry professionals back in 1996, an IT veteran said in the wake of a major anti-graft crackdown on election fraud.

Professor Wong Kam-fai, former president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Joint Council, made the comment on Sunday after the graft buster last month arrested 72 people in connection with vote-rigging in the IT functional constituency in last year’s Legco elections.

“Has the government executed (the suggestions)? That’s the problem,” Wong told RTHK’s City Forum.

He said Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam Chi-yuen should feel apologetic for not following up the suggestions during his term.

Wong said that in 2004, about 5,000 people were eligible to cast their votes in Legco’s IT sector. This rose to about 6,700 in 2012, and then to 12,000 last year.

Despite the sharp increase over the years, Wong said it did not necessarily mean that it was a result of vote-rigging. With 100,000 IT professionals in Hong Kong, the number of registered voters was still small.