Lawmakers should offer constructive criticisms and advice to government
Document Type
Newspaper article
Source Publication
China Daily (Hong Kong Edition)
Publication Date
3-15-2016
First Page
P10
Abstract
I have written earlier in this column affirming that in Hong Kong there is separation of powers among the executive, the judiciary, and the legislative functions. Given that separation of powers is alive and well, legislators certainly are not accountable to the executive branch. They are accountable to Hong Kong people at large and they are there to offer constructive criticisms and advice to the SAR government. Legislators thus are not there to rubber stamp everything proposed by the executive. Today, legislators are all either popularly elected or elected by their functional constituencies. They are there to guard and to further the interests of the public. Even legislators from functional constituencies should be accountable to the public. Ideally, their functional constituency background should enrich discussions in the Legislative Council, so that such discussions will not lose sight of some important perspectives. Being accountable to people who voted them into office would be too narrow a perspective.
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Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Ho, L.-S. (2016, March 15). Lawmakers should offer constructive criticisms and advice to government. China Daily (Hong Kong Edition), P10.