FEATURE: Tung's Accountability System Gains Major Support

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 18, 2002

FEATURE: Tung's Accountability System Gains Major Support

A proposal to institute a ministerial system-styled political system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government gained support from Legislative Councilors and an academic Wednesday. The new system will enable future HKSAR chief executives to form their own team of 14 key political positions to head the HKSAR government. The accountability system is one similar to the ministerial system in western democracies.

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A proposal to institute a ministerial system-styled political system in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government gained support from Legislative Councilors and an academic Wednesday.

The proposal entitled the "Principal Officials Accountability System" designed by HKSAR Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa's (CE) was also described by a professor in public administration at a local university as a policy that is completely in line with the Basic Law.

The new system will enable future HKSAR chief executives to form their own team of 14 key political positions to head the HKSAR government.

Tsang Yuk Sing, a leader of a major political party who has influence over many HKSAR Legislative Councilors, has remarked, " Basically we support the blueprint. We feel that it can, indeed, improve the government's policy-making by bringing the policy secretaries closer together amongst themselves for policy-making and enabling them to better attend to the views of the public."

New system introduced to public

Tung Chee Hwa was speaking at the Legislative Council to introduce the system, which will also reduce the existing number of government bureau from 16 to 11, each of which will be held accountable to his own work.

"In the last two years, we've listened clearly to the views of the community through various channels. This includes attending a series of meetings in the Legislative Council and listening to the views of the Honorable members," Tung said.

"We are heartened that the community has generally identified with the concept of introducing the accountability system," he continued.

Elaborating on the proposal at a news conference, Donald Tsang, the HKSAR's administrative secretary, explained the fact that future bureau secretaries will be held responsible for their own work and will, therefore, require them to be more attentive to public views and the Legislative Council.

"I think this will improve policy-making," he stressed.

Joseph Cheng, a professor of the Department of Public and Social Administration of the City University admitted that with the new system in force, it would, indeed, strengthen the government's identity and improve coordination among the top members of the government.

"I think that there is a lot of sympathy and support that Mr. Tung should have his own team, and that the team members should share his political belief, his value and his policy programs and that his team should be willing to come out to sell his policies in public," he said.

New system in line with Basic Law

When asked if the new system has any basis in the Basic Law of the HKSAR, Cheng said, "It (the accountability system) certainly is in line with the Basic Law; it certainly does not contravene the Basic Law in any way."

He explained that this is due to the Chief Executive's rights to nominate officials to be appointed by the Central government, which is stipulated in Article 48(5) of the Basic Law.

Article 48(5) stipulates that the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise powers and functions "to nominate and to report to the Central People's Government for appointment of the following principal officials: Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Departments, Directors of Bureaux, Commissioner Against Corruption, Director of Audit, Commissioner of Customs and Excise; and to recommend to the Central People's government the removal of the above-mentioned officials".

Tsang also stressed that should any such secretaries fail in their policies and are censured by no-confidence motions at the Legislative Council, the chief executive will seriously consider removing him from office, subject to the approval of the Central government, in line with the spirit of the same article of the law.

New system similar to that in western democracies

Peter Woo Kwong Ching, a local business who contested with Tung in 1996 for the election of the first chief executive, also issued a press release earlier, praising the election of the chief executive by the 800-strong election committee and the accountability system as a system much more democratic than the appointment of governors in Hong Kong instituted by the British during the colonial rule.

"Under the British rule, the governors of Hong Kong were appointed by the Queen, but the chief executive of the HKSAR is generated from the Election Committee," he said.

The accountability system is similar to the ministerial system in western democracies, he added.

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