Members of the BPA, Mr John Tsang Chun-wah, Financial Secretary, (front row middle) and Mr Chow Chung-kong, member of the Executive Council, (front row second right), handed out the political reform pamphlets in Central. Mr John Tsang encouraged people to speak up in urging Legislative Councilors to approve the political reform plan.
Mr John Tsang Chun-wah, Financial Secretary (FS), and Mr Chow Chung-kong, member of the Executive Council were out and about on the footbridge outside Exchange Square in Central this afternoon (April 30) to explain and distribute pamphlets on the government’s political reform plan. They were joined by Legislative Councilors and young volunteers from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), as well as more than 30 representatives from the financial sector who were on hand to appeal for public support.
Mr Tsang actively engaged office workers during the busy lunch hour some of whom requested taking a picture with him. He pointed out that there was widespread support for selecting the Chief Executive (CE) through the process of universal suffrage in 2017. As the proposed political reform package was currently under review in the Legislative Council, he encouraged people to be more vocal in urging Legislative Councilors to approve the proposal. He said, “There is a close relationship between politics and economy. If the reform proposal is rejected, Hong Kong’s economic development is likely to be subjected to bottlenecks. I would therefore appeal to the Legislative Councilors to approve the proposal.” Mr Chow Chung-kong said he hoped more people would support the political reform package for the sake of a strong society and stable business environment in Hong Kong.
The campaign was attended by several BPA members who included Mr Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, BPA Vice Chairman and member of the Executive Council; Mr Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, BPA Vice Chairman; Dr Lo Wai-kwok, BPA Vice Chairman; Mr Abraham Shek Lai-him, BPA Secretary General; and members from the BPA Committee on Youth. Mr Lam urged support for the “one person, one vote” method of electing the CE in 2017. He said, “Once universal suffrage is in the pocket, it can never be taken away. And there is more to pocket in the future!” Mr Lam recounted a response he had gotten from a passerby who expressed keenness in the ability to vote immediately when he asked the question on the right to vote while handing out pamphlets. Mr Lam believed that people were largely eager to achieve universal suffrage and he hoped Legislative Councilors would heed public opinion and endorse the government’s political reform proposal. As the saying goes, “A vote in hand is worth a hundred in the bush!”
The legislative representative for the financial services constituency, Mr Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, called on industry colleagues to volunteer in distributing pamphlets to the public. He said that if the proposed political reform was implemented, people could exercise their votes to elect the CE. This would help stabilise society, which would be in turn be conducive to economic development.
Dr Lo pointed out that as we were just one step away from universal suffrage, he hoped that more than two-thirds of Legislative Councilors would support the proposal.
 A passerby went up to the FS to collect a pamphlet and shake his hand. |
 Transcending borders in the promotion of political reform. |
 Members of the BPA Committee on Youth resorted to a selfie device in “greeting” the FS |
 Mr Christopher Cheung Wah-fung (fourth from left), BPA Vice Chairman; Mr Abraham Shek Lai-him (third from right), BPA Secretary General; and members of the BPA Committee on Youth in a group photo. |
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