I respect Mr Tung Chee Hwa its really sad to see someone who has
been working so hard for HongKong being haress by a thug like long
hair. I hope this will never happen in Singapore.
Rebel lawmaker disrupts grilling of
Tung
HONG KONG - The new Hong Kong legislature got its first chance to
question Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa yesterday but the session
was disrupted by a radical lawmaker.
Security guards blocking Mr Leung (right) outside the legislative
chambers. The radical lawmaker again hogged the limelight by
causing havoc at the session yesterday and claiming official
harrasment. -- AP
The showdown made clear that Mr Tung could be in for a rough ride
in his last three years of office. His opposition in the
Legislative Council (Legco) added three new members, for a total of
25 out of 60 seats, including some harsh, vocal critics.
Mr Tung entered the legislative chambers ready to be grilled on
policy, but the hearing was delayed by a bizarre exchange as
lawmaker 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok Hung charged that he had been
harassed by Mr Tung's bodyguards on the way in.
Mr Leung said he tried to hand the Chief Executive a petition but
was physically restrained by two bodyguards.
He said Mr Tung watched the confrontation and did nothing.
'Mr Tung saw that his bodyguards were violent to me, ignored it and
left,' Mr Leung said. 'When you see your dog biting your friend,
you at least tell your dog to stop biting. You wouldn't just walk
away.'
Mr Tung stood at a podium in silence as 'Long Hair' argued with
Legco president Rita Fan over the fracas.
When Mr Leung refused to be pacified, Ms Fan adjourned the meeting
for about 10 minutes.
Mr Tung's office later issued a statement saying it would provide
Legco secretariat officials with a detailed explanation of the
incident 'to assist them in ascertaining what actually
happened'.
Mr Leung came under fire himself for wearing a T-shirt in violation
of the legislature's dress code.
He refused to cover it up with a jacket at Ms Fan's urging, and the
Legco president said she would deal with the issue later.
The shirt was emblazoned with a political slogan demanding that
mainland China atone for the killing of student activists during
the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
During the swearing-in ceremony on Oct 6, he shattered the
solemnity by shouting pro-democracy slogans after he read his oath
of office.
Yesterday, Mr Tung, who was picked by an 800-member pro-Beijing
committee, was peppered with questions from more than a dozen
lawmakers about a variety of social concerns, including pollution
from mainland China, the economy as well as the lack of a minimum
wage.
He said he was working on Hong Kong's problems and considering all
the issues being raised, but he produced no new answers for solving
them.
Mr Tung also promised the pro-democracy lawmakers that he would
follow up on their request to visit Chinese leaders in
Beijing.
The mundane workings of government were vastly overshadowed by the
drama being stirred up by Mr Leung, who was swept to office last
month in a massive protest vote. -- AP, Reuters
