Eleven newly-elected Legislative Council members in the pro-democracy opposition camp have refused invitations from Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to attend a meeting with him.
The meeting was likely to be held over a meal, with the aim being to understand each other in a relaxed environment, Apple Daily cited a source as saying. Leung said on Tuesday that he wanted to meet the 26 new LegCo members to “exchange opinions with lawmakers holding different and opposing views.”
Architectural sector lawmaker-elect Edward Yiu Chung-yim refused to meet him, and made a counter-suggestion that any meeting with the Chief Executive should only be conducted in the presence of a retired judge or a respected non-governmental figure, in order to avoid potential political smearing and rumours after such a meeting.
Yiu criticised the idea of a closed-door meeting, saying: “Under the current situation where the public does not trust the government, it will cause a lot of speculations to carry on with such a non-transparent and non-public [meeting].”
‘Do not see a need’
Eddie Chu Hoi-dick said he received a call from the Chief Executive’s Office on Tuesday, informing him that Leung could meet him individually or with other lawmakers-elect. He refused to meet Leung individually.
“We have said that we do not agree with him being re-elected, and he twisted our words… not to mention what he will say to the public if we meet him individually,” Chu said.
Lau Siu-lai and Youngspiration’s Sixtus “Baggio” Leung Chung-hang have both said that they “do not see a need” to meet with Leung.
The Civic Party’s Jeremy Tam Man-ho said he has yet to receive direct contact from the government, but he would be unlikely to attend.
The Democratic Party has four new lawmakers. Of these, Lam Cheuk-ting said he would meet with Leung to tell him face-to-face that he should step down, but the party later decided its lawmakers would not meet with him.
Leung also suggested he would invite new lawmakers to visit the mainland.
Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai said he will not meet with Leung as he was not elected by the public. “It is even more ridiculous to go to the mainland; if I went I may not be able to come back,” he said.
Nathan Law Kwun-chung of Demosisto said that such a meeting with Leung would be meaningless and he would turn it down, as Leung did not make any positive interactions with society since he came to office.
He also dismissed the possibility of meeting with Chinese officials as his “home return permit” had been confiscated during the pro-democracy Occupy protests in 2014.
Additional reporting by Kris Cheng.
