In a
failed attempt to delay the vote, a group of lawmakers from the
pro-establishment camp walked out from the building right before the voting
time of the electoral reform bill. In the few days after the incident, many of
those lawmakers have admitted that the walkout was poorly coordinated, which
caused a shocking embarrassment to both the Hong Kong and Central government.
Today, Whatsapp messages of the pro-establishment camp right before the walkout
leaked out, putting the President of the Legislative Council, Jasper Tsang
Yok-Sing, in a difficult position.
Pro-democracy
lawmakers, including Alan Leong Kah-Kit and Albert Chan Wai-Yip, doubted the
impartiality of Tsang for his participation in the Whatsapp group. Jasper
Tsang, in the Whatsapp conversation, described Albert Chan as a “thief”. Chan
expressed discontents with the statement and demanded that Tsang should resign
from the presidency.
In
their open letter to Tsang, lawmakers from the pro-democracy camp demanded
Tsang to strictly comply with his promise of political neutrality. They also
demanded Tsang to apologize for his participation in the Whatsapp conversation,
make suggestions on how to avoid making the same mistakes, and re-make his
promise of political neutrality.
Tsang
explained that his comment was “just a joke”, and he refused to resign. Even
though Tsang emphasized that he did not, by participating in the Whatsapp
conversation, breach the principle of neutrality, he apologized for his
participation to both the pro-establishment and pro-democracy camps. People
Power, a political party to which Albert Chan belongs, plans to initiate a
motion of no confidence against Tsang. Alan Leong, the leader of the Civic
Party, accepted the apology of Tsang, and commented that what is important now
is to make sure that Tsang stick to the principle of political neutrality.
To
the pro-establishment camp, the leak-out has shattered their confidence in
further cooperation. James Tien, the Honorary Chairman of the Liberal Party,
opined on his Facebook that the member who leaked the conversation was
“unethical” (“沒有道義”).
In
response to the leak-out, many pro-democracy lawmakers have joined Telegram,
which is believed to be a more secure counterpart to Whatsapp.
It
is unsure who leaked the conversation out, but it is sure that the mutual trust
among the pro-establishment lawmakers and between the pro-democracy and the
pro-establishment camp is immensely challenged.