Hong Kong democrats say 'no' to power

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HONG KONG - Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa has announced the new members of Hong Kong's Executive Council (Exco), the territory's top decision-making body, and contrary to media speculation, the list did not contain a single democrat, not even the most likely candidate, Beijing critic Leong Kah-kit.

According to political experts, the pro-democracy camp deliberately chose to distance itself from the Executive Council because its members diverge greatly from the government position on many issues. In addition, outside the Exco, the camp is not restricted to strict closed-door confidentiality, but can communicate directly with Beijing, which has shown a new willingness to communicate. In the eyes of the democrats, this outweighs a toe-hold in the Tung administration, which they detest.

After the election for the Legislative Council (Legco) on September 12, rumors abounded that Tung planned to install some democrats in the Exco so as to hear Hong Kong's different voices and restore his deteriorating prestige. Some leaked news even specified that Leong Kah-kit, a newly elected legislator and member of the Article 45 Concern Group, had received an invitation from Tung. Nonetheless, the final list of new Exco members turned out to be otherwise, including incumbent legislator Bernard Chan and Laura Cha, former vice chairperson of China Securities Regulatory Commission, the mainland's top regulating body of the stock markets.

The Executive Council, which functions as Tung's cabinet, consists of 14 principal officials, appointed under the Accountability System, seven non-officials and another seven appointed members.

Asia Times