MIDDLEBURGH
To inform entertain and excite my kids, Jamie, Patrick, Aaron & Sarah Middleburgh, our family and friends.
about me
Dave Middleburgh
Hong Kong
powered by BLOGGER
To inform entertain and excite my kids, Jamie, Patrick, Aaron & Sarah Middleburgh, our family and friends.
about me
Dave Middleburgh
powered by BLOGGER
Regina as expected won a seat, however it was at the expense of the DABs second candidate Choy So Yuk from whom she allegedly "stole" votes" Regina's list got the highest vote on Hong Kong Island (61,073) but under the voting system it was not sufficient for her running mate Louis Shih Tai Cho to get elected. Effectively the voters got one pro Beijing candidate instead of another.
For the pan Democrats Audrey Eu and her running mate 36 year old Tanya Chan were safely returned (82600) for the Civic Party as indeed was Cyd Ho for “Civic Act Up”, whose strategy of standing on her own list worked (30887).
Jasper Tan (60417) and Kam Nai Wai (39808) for the Democratic Party and the DABs respectively were also returned. The net position is that 4 pan democrats and 2 pro Beijing legislators were returned which coincidently matches the 60/40 split of votes cast.
As it turned out, although there was a marginal drop in the % vote for the pan democrats, they won 19 directly elected seats (an increase of 1). Whereas the DABs lost 1 (to Regina) and the Liberal Party was wasted and now has no legislators directly elected by the people. Both the party chairman, James Tien , and vice chairman, Selina Chow lost their seats. The chairman resigned and the vice gave up her position on Exco (effectively the HK cabinet). Miriam Lau who was elected to represent the Transport Functional Constituency on a TOTAL of 149 votes is now acting Chairman. Selina Chow complained that Lau Wong Fat who himself was returned a Liberal party legislator for a functional constituency had been canvassing for the DAB’s Cheung Hok Ming , her main competitor and this lead to her defeat . Lau Wong Fat has now been forced to resign from the party NB Cheung Hok Ming is likely to succeed Lau Wong fat as chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk when the later retires.
There were also expectations that “Long Hair” aka “the Honourable Leung Kwok-hung for the Trotskyite League of Social Democrats might lose his seat. Not only did he retain it but the partywon another seat.
The under current is this: voters have chosen candidates who will stand up for their rights and challenge the government. The liberal party is perceived as a business men’s party ie capitalists who have gone to bed with the Government to stitch up the masses. Thus radicals, independents and democrats have been returned in favor of "yes" men - long live the revolution !
In contrast to the 30 directly elected seats the pan democrats secured only 4 of the 30 functional seats of which 14 were uncontested. Of the contested functional seats the Insurance seat was secured with a total of 60 votes out of a total 114 cast . The most contested functional seat was "Education" where 52894 votes were cast. (Why does this not surprise me!)
The rationale for functional seats is that they represent key constituents in society and act as a balance like second chambers in other legislations to ensure that outrageous legislation is not introduced. (Didn’t stop the government trying it on with Article 26) Theoretically the candidate’s specialist domain knowledge can be applied as applicable to challenge inappropriate government legislation or champion issues affecting either their constituents or the community at large.
The problem of course arises when there is a conflict of interest between their constituents (or sponsors) and the community at large,. It is alleged that the incumbent Tourism member Joseph Tang (executive director, Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong) was defeated by the lawyer Paul Tse Wai Chun (by a majority of 9 votes) because the former was seen as too pro consumer ie putting the public before his constituents. A total of 883 votes were cast. Personally I think that the vote in favor of Paul Tse was a vote for his dress sense and general "coolness" . He has been seen in public dressed in a hot-pink Superman sport and has posed half naked in Next magazine Apparently he got the idea from Richard Branson.
A final point on Functional Constituencies: They are frequently compared to second chambers in other legislations: Many (and I use as example the UK House of Lords) cannot kill money nor can they ultimately stop legislation ie the second chamber can amend and delay but does not have a veto and therein lies the issue. HK functional seats do provide a mechanism to veto legislation supported by directly elected members and thus thwart the will of the people. If we are going to have functional constituencies (and I am not saying we should !!) then perhaps it should be mandatory for functional constituency voters to vote else face a fine for not voting as under Australian laws ie none of this "uncontested" rubbish or allocation of a seat on 60 votes . Further there should also be a minimum constituency size requirement ie for a function to have a seat in Legco it must represent a significant number of constituents. If there are insufficient constituents it stands to reason that the group does not represent a significant part of society and therefore does not merit a seat. If an existing function cannot register enough "voters" then the seat could either be allocated to another functional group or returned to the geographic constituency for direct election.
Just for the crack I did an analysis of the pro Beijing Functional Constituency members. And very enlightening it was too!. I should point out that several irrespective of their affiliations clearly act for and on behalf of the HK community at large and are selfless public servants.
| Party | Name | Wikopedia (abstract @ 14 Sept 2008) | Constituency | Vote |
| Independent (4/6) | Lam Tai Fai | Dr. Lam Tai Fai, BBS, JP is also the appointed member of Shatin District Council. He is the managing director of Peninsula Knitters Limited, a textiles and garment company owned by Henry Tang, the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong. He is the member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. | Industrial (second) | uncontested |
| David Li Kwok Po | Sir David Li Kwok Po, GBM, GBS, OBE, JP (born March 13, 1939 in London, England)is the current Chairman and Chief Executive of the Bank of East Asia in Hong Kong.He stepped down from Exco in Feb 2008 following the revelation he had paid a huge sum to settle an insider trading case against him. Arthur Li, ex-Secretary for Education and Manpower, is his younger brother. | Finance | uncontested | |
| Timothy Fok Ting | Timothy Fok<(b. 1952), GBS, JP, the son of Henry FokHe is notaffiliated to any political party, but is aligned with the reactionary so-called "pro-China" wing of LegCo, and is also a Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.In addition to his political activities and his business interests as Managing Director of the Yau Wing Group of Companies, Fok holds numerous public positions in the sports world. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee; President of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong;Vice-President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA); a Member of the 2008 Olympics Coordination Commission; President of the Hong Kong Sports Writer Association; Vice President of the Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics Equestrian Events (which he is credited with bringing to Hong Kong); Vice President of the Hong Kong East Asian Games Organizing Committee;and President of the Hong Kong Football Association. He was married to former Miss Hong Kong, Loletta Chu.The couple, who have three sons, announced their divorce in September 2006.His two sons,Fok Kai shan and Fok Kai kong attracted much media attention due to their relationships with Chinese movie star Ziyi and Olympic diving gold-medalist Guo Jingjing, respectively | Performng Arts, Culture & Puplication | uncontested | |
| ;Philip Wong Yu Hon | Philip Wong Yu-hong, GBS was born December 23, 1938 in Quanzhou, Fujian province in the People's republic of China. He is a representative of the National People's Congress. On the Legislative council website, Wong is listed as having a master's degree in engineering from the University of California, Juris Doctor from Southland University and Ph.D from the California Coast University. Share market analyst David Webb requested an investigation be launched to check for his possible fake academic credentials. | Commercial (second) | uncontested | |
| Federation Trades Unions (2/4) | Pan Pey-Chyou | Dr. Pan Pey Chyou is the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions. Dr. Pan was graduated in the MBBS of the University of Hong Kong and works as a doctor in psychiatry department of the United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, Kowloon. He is the Honorary Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry Department of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. | Labour | uncontested |
| Ip Wai Ming | (born 1965). He is the labour representative of the LabourAdvisory Board of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions. | Labour | uncontested | |
| Alliance (3/3) | Abraham Razack | Abraham Razack, SBS, JP aka Abraham Shek Lai (born 24 June 1945 in Macau) graduated from the University of Sydney in Australia. Abraham is a businessman. He was the chief executive of the ex-Land Development Corporation (now Urban Renewal Authority). He is now the independent non-executive director of the MTR Corporation. | Real Estate & Construction | uncontested |
| Patrick Lau | Patrick Lau SBS, JP (born on 1 June, 1944 in Macau) is an award-winning Hong Kong architect. Between 1996 and 2000, he was head of the Department of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong. Amongst other things, he designs for three international schools in Hong Kong, the French International School, Hong Kong International School and West Island School won awards at the Hong Kong Institute of Architects awards in 1984, 1989, and 1996 respectively. | Architecture & Planning | 1429 | |
| Raymond Ho Cheung Tai | Dr Raymond Ho Chung Tai, SBS, JP, (born 23 March 1939 in Hong Kong is a registered structural engineer and a registered professional engineer in building,civil, environmental, geotechnical and structural. He is the ex-president ofHong Kong Institution of Engineers. Raymond was graduated from the Bachelor of Science in Engineering of the University of Hong Kong, and the Doctor of Philosophy of the City University of London.and is a deputy to the 11th NPCC | Engineering | 2715 | |
| DAB (3/10) | Wong Yung Kan | SBS, JP Born 10 August 1951 in Hong is also the member of Tai Po District Council. He is a fisherman | Agrigulture & Fisheries | uncontested |
| Wong Ting Kwong | Wong Ting Kwong, BBS Born 12 September 1949 in Hong Kong is a businessman and Vice President, Chi Kin Winter Swimming Club Ltd | Import & Export | uncontested | |
| Ip Kwok Him | Ip Kwok Him, GBS, JP (born November 8, 1951 in Hong Kong) has been the member of Central and Western District Council , except the period from 2003 to 2007 when he was defeated by Cyd Ho, a democratic candidate in 2003 district council election | District Councils | 259 | |
| Liberal Party (7/7) | Cheung Yu Yan | Tommy Cheung Yu Yan, SBS, JP, (born 30 September 1949 in Hong) Kong Tommy Cheung with family roots in Dongguan, graduated from Diocesan Boys' School and Pepperdine University. He was the member of the Eastern District Council. Cheung is the businessman who is the chairman of a trading and investment company (Syto Trading & Investment Ltd) | Catering | uncontested |
| Andrew Leung Kwan Yuen | Andrew Leung Kwan Yuen, SBS, JP(born 24 February 1951 in Hong Kong) is the chairman of Hong Kong Productivity Council and Hong Kong Vocational Training Council. Leung is the businessman who is the chairman of a textiles company in Kwai Chung | Industrial (First) | uncontested | |
| Lau Wong Fat | Lau Wong Fat, GBM, GBS, OBE, JP (born 15 October, 1936 in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong with family root in Jiangxi Hakka), nicknamed "Uncle Fat" is the chairman of New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, the chairman of Tuen Mun District Council. and Punti of New Territories. He has been the chairman of Heung Yee Kuk since 1980, so he is always called "the King of New Territories". Lau is now the eldest member in Legislative Council. He considered to retire from the chairman of Heung Yee in near future. The successor may be the Honourable Cheung Hok Ming, another member of Legislative Council. | Heung Yee Kuk | uncontested | |
| Miriam Lau | Miriam Lau Kin Yee, GBS, OBE, JP (born 24 July 1947 in Mainland China) was the acting-chairperson of the legislative Council from 2004 to 2008 when Rita Fan, the former chairperson, was absent in the council,She is a solicitor and she joined the law firm of Alfred Lau, her ex-husband, from 1979 to 2001. | Transport | 147 | |
| Jeffrey Lam Kin Fung | Jeffrey Lam Kin Fung, SBS, JP. Born in Hong Kong was graduated from Tufts University in the United States. Lam is the businessman who is the managing director of a toy manufacturing company. He is the general committee member of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce | Commercial (first) | 465 | |
| Sophie Leung Yau Fun | Sophie Leung Lau Yau Fun, GBS, JP (born 9 October 1945 in Macau) She works as a director in her garment company.(Bay Apparel Limited) Her husband is Brian Leung Hung Tak, the chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association. | Textiles & Garments | 1255 | |
| Vincent Fang Kang | Vincent Fang Kang, SBS, JP (born 7 May 1943 in Shanghai) is a Hong Kong entrepreneur in garment industry. He is the CEO of Toppy Company (Hong Kong) Limited, a garment company in Kwai Chung with numerous outlets in mainland China . | Wholesale & Retail | 1907 |
Labels: Election, Hong Kong, Legco
Posted at 9/15/2008 01:48:00 pm by David Middleburgh
Permalink
