HONG KONG
Hong Kong’s local government has scrapped Chief Executive CY Leung's usual town hall meetings for the first time amid heightened political tensions following the recent democracy protests.
Some assemblies were supposed to have been held in the final quarter of last year, but the 79-day-long occupation of major roads from the end of September by demonstrators demanding free elections overshadowed all else in the former British colony.
Advocacy groups and pan-democrats have criticized the decision, saying it would limit public participation in policy drafting ahead of Leung's policy address Jan. 14 and the budget Feb. 25, the South China Morning Post reported Monday.
"This is very undesirable," Au Yeung Kwun-tung, an organizer of the Alliance for Universal Pension - that helps the elderly express their views at public forums - told the newspaper.
"This is the only occasion throughout the year which allows the public to voice their opinions on how the public resources should be allocated to officials."
Analysts have seen the meetings as attempts by the unpopular Leung to portray himself as a man of the people.
In recent years, the assemblies would be gatecrashed by democracy protesters, who were often confronted by pro-government supporters with scuffles breaking out at times.
Au Yeung said it was unacceptable for the government to use the democracy protests as an excuse to hide from the public.
In October, the government said the public could give their views on the policy address and budget via the Internet, fax and telephone, without specifying whether public forums would be held.
Au Yeung said written submissions were no replacement for direct dialogue, adding that it was difficult for elderly people to submit their opinions online, according to the report.
At least three town hall meetings have been held per year to canvass public views on the policy address over the past five years.
Pro-government groups were often accused of mobilizing the elderly to snap up the limited number of tickets for the events and rallying government supporters to dominate the forums.
In 2013, Financial Secretary John Tsang was hit by an egg hurled by a pro-democracy activist at one of the forums.
The newspaper quoted a pro-Beijing lawmaker as saying it was "understandable" that the government would cancel the forums following the Occupy protests as they would only attract demonstrations that could turn into scuffles.
Meanwhile, public broadcaster RTHK reported Monday the Hong Kong government would submit its "public sentiment" report to Beijing on Tuesday.
In doing so, the government will keep a promise it made to the student leaders of the protests.
But the report will be purely factual, and therefore likely to disappoint the students and other democracy advocates. The government had tried to characterize their offer to send the report to Beijing as a concession to the protesters.
The report to Beijing will the events that occurred between late August and December the 15th -- the period from when Beijing set out its political framework on the 2017 chief executive election to the clearance of protesters' last road occupation.
