Town’s new election scheme is predicated by itself distinctive historical past and China’s ‘One Nation, Two Techniques’ coverage
On December 10, Hong Kong can have its first District Council elections because the implementation of this yr’s electoral reform legislation. It will likely be a litmus check for town’s future and the success of China’s ‘One Nation, Two Techniques’ coverage, which has to this point seen the peaceable transition of Hong Kong and Macau from British and Portuguese colonial rule, respectively, to being a part of China.
Briefly, the adjustments that occurred this yr to the electoral system have been fairly important. Whereas the entire council seats was determined by direct election, now this has been diminished to twenty%. One other 40% are determined by oblique elections, and 40% are determined by the Beijing-approved chief government, who’s at the moment John Lee Ka-chiu.
Candidates should be loyal to China insofar as they can’t have brazenly referred to as for sedition nor colluded with international powers. It ought to be famous that, till not too long ago, being in workplace in Hong Kong didn’t even require taking an oath – which, when applied, noticed mass resignations in protest.
This modification was applied in direct response to the forces which can be brazenly separatist, attempting to tug Hong Kong away from Beijing and make it unbiased, in addition to those that are purposely attempting to muck up town’s democracy and wreck the native authorities’s capacity to assist common folks. Given all that’s taken place within the metropolis in recent times, that is fairly an inexpensive method, and it’s been a very long time coming.
Hong Kong, whereas part of China, has loved self-rule and judicial independence because it was handed over to Beijing by London in 1997 after 156 years of British rule. In 2020, pro-independence protests broke out within the metropolis after the introduction of a nationwide safety legislation, with many protesters waving British and American flags and demanding “democracy.” Western powers, in the meantime, accused Beijing of curbing Hong Kong’s autonomy and dismantling its native democratic establishments.
To these protesters, their sympathizers and supporters, the brand new electoral scheme could appear completely antithetical to democracy. Nevertheless, an important factor is that the federal government produces outcomes for the folks. Opposite to how Western democracy and republicanism work, the social contract in Chinese language civilization has all the time been such that if the federal government materially advantages the lives of the folks, then the state has legitimacy within the eyes of the folks.
In essence, the Chinese language state is what ensures the rights and well-being of the folks. That is totally different to the West, the place the state is what folks must be protected against within the first place. This is the reason Hong Kong is inserting such an emphasis on the peculiar perform of presidency forward of kowtowing to some loud voices, who principally don’t acknowledge the rule of legislation. Nevertheless it also needs to be famous that the essential thrust of the legislation is much like what’s already in place in lots of Western international locations, such because the disqualification clause of the 14th Modification and the truth that all US public servants must take an oath of workplace.
One such instance of those loud voices is the Hong Kong Parliamentary Electoral Organizing Committee, which is a bunch primarily based in Toronto looking for to ascertain a Hong Kong parliament (in exile) and create a brand new structure, i.e. a brand new unbiased state. The group is led partly by Elmer Yuen, certainly one of eight fugitives needed by China for alleged separatist exercise. His public statements and his group’s targets of “self-determination” and “sovereignty” would certainly make his actions unlawful beneath Chinese language legislation. Yuen didn’t reply to a request for touch upon this subject.
On the similar time, this group additionally makes it clear that it’s not simply influenced by Western international locations, the US and the UK specifically, however that it desires to emulate them. It’s apparent that this has to do with the truth that Hong Kong was a British colony for therefore lengthy, and lots of Hongkongers developed a form of distinctive identification. One notable ballot from final yr discovered that 76% of younger folks within the metropolis establish as Hongkongers, whereas solely 2% establish as Chinese language, although many within the pro-Beijing camp have tried to discredit this ballot and the company behind it.
Even when it have been the case that Hongkongers, particularly younger folks, needed to retain a novel identification, the concept of ‘One Nation, Two Techniques’ is essentially constructed on this basis. This yr’s electoral scheme is a hybrid between Western-style democracy and Chinese language-style governance. It’s a system that prioritizes outcomes, process, and decorum over polarization and sedition. Current years have proven that Western-style democracy can’t stand up to important stress and that occasions just like the Capitol riot in Washington, DC, which bore a resemblance to the Hong Kong riots, can happen with out international intervention.
Hong Kong is a vibrant, eclectic, and actually distinctive place. Its distinctive historical past and tradition have made it one of many biggest locations on the planet. However there are nonetheless some issues and excesses, of which rampant inequality and ballooning housing prices are a number of the most notable. Addressing these points will take critical results-driven governance – not petty partisanship.
There’s additionally the truth that international powers are actually tied up in Hong Kong’s inner state of affairs and should be exorcized. As an anecdote, my first time in Hong Kong, I met no less than one individual – although a number of others I suspected – who admitted to having ties to US intelligence, which I discovered to be stunning and one thing that just about actually by no means occurred simply throughout the border on the Chinese language mainland.
Hong Kong’s new electoral scheme will deal with each of those areas and assist enhance the lives of locals. That’s a win-win in any affordable individual’s e-book.
The statements, views and opinions expressed on this column are solely these of the writer and don’t essentially signify these of RT.
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