CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL
The Performance of LeaCo
22.
A question mark hangs over the ability of LegCo to carry out its business effectively, and, as noted above, it is far from certain that the adoption of the Arculli model will get to the root of the problem. Only 4 Bills were passed in the first three months of the current LegCo session, compared with 21 Bills in the same period last year. The introduction of Bills by the HKG is on schedule, and the backlog is now reaching worrying proportions. It seems that LegCo members are asking more questions, scrutinising more thoroughly before giving their approval to legislation. Although part of the delay can be attributed to inexperience of new members and the inevitable problems of settling in, it does seem clear tha the greater politicisation of Legco and the ending of consensus politics have created new obstacles to the swift discharging of LegCo business and members have yet to devise methods of organisation and business management to overcome these.
23.
Many people are concerned that this situation threatens to bring the work of government grinding to a halt; and although these fears may be exaggerated, I see a real danger that perceptions of Hong Kong as a place that runs smoothly and gets things done quickly may be affected (hence the uproar from the political establishment here in protest against Stephen Cheong's recent ill-judged - but understandable - reference to "anarchy"). Stephen Cheong has not retracted what he said - and privately a lot of people here would agree with his underlying sentiment, if not with the way he expressed it.
Yours ever,
Plan
A R Paul
CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL