The democratic spirit requires a free vote — one person, one vote — and also requires that every vote carry the same weight. Every voter should be free to vote for the public official they want, regardless of profession, income, sex or race. Voters elect the government; this is democracy.
Take a look at the interview with Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying (梁振英) in the New York Times a few days ago bearing this simple standard in mind. Leung said that it was unacceptable to allow his successors to be chosen in open elections, in part because doing so would risk giving poorer residents a dominant voice in politics.
With reference to universal suffrage, he said: “You have to take care of all the sectors in Hong Kong as much as you can, and if it’s entirely a numbers game and numeric representation, then obviously you would be talking to half of the people in Hong Kong who earn less than $1,800 a month. Then you would end up with that kind of politics and policies.”
These statements make it abundantly clear that Hong Kong is an unequal class society, and that the Hong Kong elite’s view of universal suffrage reveals a complete lack of trust in the public and a rejection of their political rights. Hong Kong has a long way to go before it can become a true democracy, and Leung’s understanding of democracy is below par.
The chief executive is not elected through universal suffrage, but by an electoral committee composed of 1,200 committee members, and it has therefore been called a “coterie election.” Leung was elected by 689 of the 1,200 votes in 2012, a small majority that is often used to criticize him.
The Hong Kong government does not trust the public with appointing electoral candidates, nor does it trust voters with freely electing their leaders, because it fears that such an election would destroy or hurt those with vested interests.
This kind of unfair election guarantees the privileges of the elite, and as long as this “birdcage” democracy remains in place, wealthy Hong Kongers and powerful Chinese can continue their lifestyle, while less wealthy Hong Kongers are exploited and ignored.
The Occupy Central campaign has been going on for more than three weeks, with more than 100,000 Hong Kong residents having taken to the streets in their fight for universal suffrage.
Showing no fear of suppression by Hong Kong police using tear gas and pepper spray, they have bravely continued their umbrella revolution and let the whole world hear the pro-democratic voice of Hong Kong. They are asking to be their own masters, while opposing the elite of Hong Kong and China and their unfair system that is determining the fate of the territory.
The Chinese Communist Party started its revolutionary life and its advocacy of the dictatorship of the proletariat on the backs of poor workers and farmers. Ironically, it is now afraid of letting the middle and working classes call the shots and instead joins hands with wealthy Hong Kongers to suppress these classes in a complete betrayal of the fundamental spirit of communism.
A free and open ballot is the only way that the territory’s poor can counterbalance the wealthy elite and change the future of Hong Kong.
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