The 16th and 17th members to pull out of the all-patriots Legislative Council are Michael Tien and Tony Tse. One prominent name remaining on the departure-bingo card is of course the indefatigable Regina Ip. (Or should that be ‘once indefatigable’?)
The body has cancelled its usual end-of-term valedictory motion…
Starry Lee, chair of the House Committee, announced the decision on Tuesday, a day before the Valedictory Motion was scheduled to be delivered, saying that the lawmakers’ final remarks might influence the elections in December. The nomination period will begin on Friday.
“It was a difficult choice,” Lee said. But she added that withdrawing the motion would allow lawmakers to “focus on legislative work and ensure the election’s fairness.”
The Valedictory Motion, a post-Handover LegCo tradition, allows each legislator to deliver a speech within the chamber to say goodbye and reflect on their time in office.
Earlier, on Monday evening, Ming Pao reported that LegCo was considering scrapping the farewell motion to avoid “embarrassing” scenes.
Visions of Reg being dragged out of the chamber like Hu Jintao. And quite right – we can’t have anything that might harm the election’s fairness.
Good headline today. Well done, sir.
It’s exceedingly difficult to give the tineist fork about what’s happening in LeGo, or whatever that puppet theater is called.
That someone as talentless and moronic as Starry Lee has any prominence in LegCo politics is indicative of the dross our patriotic people’s congress is comprised of. A rare combination of extreme homophobes and seat warmers marked only by their ability to do as told except on issues of gay rights which seems to move them to rebellion unlike any other issue.
@Boris
Let’s not assume that the government wanted its ‘slightly supportive of LGBTQ rights’ bill to actually pass. Instead of, say, providing a convenient impression of separation of powers?
Rewatching Hu Jintao getting escorted by security to empty his locker, I was drawn to this para in the description:“After its week-long congress, the party is expected to confirm Mr Xi, 69, for a historic third term.”
Hmm… that was back in 2022. Why, that would make Xi [checks fingers] 72! Too old to survive the current LegCo purge, apparently.
Only two hold-outs remain, Reg and Lai Tung Kwok.
A more cynical person might think that they may be the reason why the end-of-term banquet and valedictorian speech have both been cancelled. But of course thanks to Andrew Leung and Starry Lee, we all know that the former was cancelled because “many members wish to focus on handling matters relating to the election at this moment”, and the latter because members need to “focus on legislative work and ensure the election’s fairness”.
https://x.com/kjoules/status/1980487603033199048
Xi’s age does make you ponder the Standard’s editorial of last week:
“The rejuvenation of Hong Kong’s political institutions is more than a cosmetic change; it is a necessary evolution. By fostering a political ecosystem that values both the wisdom of experience and the dynamism of youth, Hong Kong builds a more resilient and representative governance model.”
Shurely the beloved motherland should have “a more resilient and representative governance model” too?
@Boris Badanov
Umm… that wasn’t a rebellion at all — that was a bunch of puppets following a direct order to allow the government to avoid having to comply with an annoying court order using the thinly-veiled excuse of “our hands are tied — the elected officials have spoken”.
After all, it’s not LegCo that are cancelling plays for being gay.
You do have to wonder how exactly a “no gays involved” policy is going to work out for the WKCD’s stated goal of creating “a vibrant cultural quarter for Hong Kong … that will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and arts and cultural events.”