Felix Chung believes proposed ITB will be approved by legislators in October

The Liberal Party chairman has told China Daily his party maintains good relations with the government in spite of recent controversial developments inside and outside the legislative chamber.

Felix Chung Kwok-pan, in an exclusive interview, also praised the administration for correctly refocusing on economic development and livelihood issues after electoral reform was vetoed in the Legislative Council. He said it would be easier for the administration to reach consensus in the legislature over these issues.

Chung said that maintaining good relations with the government was not a problem for his party.

He said it was also normal for the party's legislators, including Honorary Chairman James Tien Pei-chun, to occasionally criticize the government.

Chung, also a legislator, insisted that Liberal Party lawmakers did the right thing to stay in the chamber and vote for the electoral reform package when most pro-establishment lawmakers had walked out.

"We are supportive of many government policies, while officials seek our opinions proactively," he said.

Officials, for example, were very pleased with the way Finance Committee Chairman Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, a Liberal Party member, chairs meetings and handles filibusters, and he has been honored with the Gold Bauhinia Star. In this year's Budget, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah granted HK$500 million to the garment and textile sector which Chung represents to promote local brands and designers.

Chung said it was important to communicate with the opposition camp. He noted that Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying had recently met "pan-democrats". "It takes two to tango and the CE had initiated the meeting with them," he noted.

Discussing funding for the proposed Innovation and Technology Bureau (ITB), Chung said it was a pity it was not approved before the summer recess. He described filibustering lawmakers as troublemakers.

He believes the ITB will be approved in October because the timing will be so close to the district council elections in November. If the lawmakers filibustered again, the voters would punish them, Chung predicted.

To improve the plight of people living in subdivided flats, he suggests converting government-owned industrial buildings into temporary flats before people are allocated public housing.

Chung also supports importing workers for government projects. This could help to speed up construction of public housing.

He also stressed that the business sector was not against retirement protection. Rather, it questioned the "universal" nature of some proposed plans.

He said he understood why the government had reservations about universal retirement protection because of its financial sustainability. He added: "What's the point of giving HK$3,000 to James Tien, who is so rich?"

Chung said he largely agreed with the academic Nelson Chow Wing-sun's latest proposal. This advocates that the government alone bear the financial the burden of pensions without requiring employers or employees to contribute.

joseph@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 07/30/2015 page6)