CHINA: Hong Kong's secretary for constitutional affairs has welcomed efforts to fight corruption by China's government. Speaking to The Irish Times, Stephen Lam added that Hong Kong was making steady progress towards universal suffrage for its citizens and praised the influence of Irish Jesuits in educating many of Hong Kong's leaders.
His comments on corruption follow the sacking of politburo member Chen Liangyu in a crackdown against corrupt officials.
Mr Lam said that systematic policies were needed to root out corruption in China. Mr Lam is responsible for Hong Kong's constitutional arrangements and for managing the "one country, two systems" policy between China and Hong Kong.
"It is in China's interests to weed out corruption. Here in Hong Kong we first fought corruption and cleaned up our house. Then we invested resources in building up the rule of law," he said.
"Over in mainland China I see that they are putting a lot of efforts into training legal professionals and to ensuring that legal obligations are fulfilled . . . This will be welcomed by the Hong Kong community."
According to Hong Kong law, public officials are automatically deemed guilty of corruption if their personal wealth exceeds their accumulated income.
The week also saw Hong Kong's most prominent opposition politician pull out of next year's election for the region's top political post. Widely expected to run for chief executive officer, Ansom Chan said last Sunday she would not run, citing fears among legislators about backing an anti-Beijing candidate. "Some either don't want to be seen to be offending the chief executive or trampling on the toes of the central government," said Ms Chan.
While the existing chief executive, Donald Tsang, is ahead of Ms Chan in the polls, Democratic Party parliamentarian Yeung Sum said that more political opposition was needed to underpin democracy in the region. "I'm disappointed that she decided not to run. We were keen to support her and she is popular and respectable to many in Hong Kong."
Although the chief executive's position under the present system is selected from an electoral college of professionals, employers and trade unionists, Hong Kong law requires that it "eventually" be chosen by universal suffrage.
"There is no timetable for universal suffrage . . . Service sector workers don't have representation at present. Catering, retailing, wholesaling and many other workers have representation only through their employers," Mr Sum said.
The government was working to overcome obstacles to achieving more democratic representation, according to Mr Lam.
He added: "The chief executive officer, Donald Tsang, myself and the secretary for housing were all educated by Irish Jesuits and they taught us to believe in freedom. They also taught us to believe in responsible citizenship."