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MAC says victory belongs to the people

The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday put its stamp of approval on the performance of the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong's legislative elections, while officials and academics analyzed the reasons for the pro-democracy side's showing falling short of expectations.

"China mobilized all kinds of resources to assist the pro-Beijing and pro-government candidates, but the pro-democracy camp still managed to clinch 62.5 percent of the votes. It's a big victory for the Hong Kong people," council Vice Chairman Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said.

"We hold a positive view of the outcome of the election," Chiu said at a seminar hosted by the Friends of Hong Kong and Macau Association to discuss the election's impact on the area's democratization.

Beijing has learned election strategies through the legislative elections, including how to nominate candidates and distribute votes, former council vice chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通) said.

Through the election, the Chinese government has come to know how democracy works and still feels confident about controlling democratic development in Hong Kong, Chen said.

"For Beijing, the result shall be acceptable if not satisfactory. As for the pro-democracy camp, it might have to review how to integrate its resources to win an election," he said.

Chang Wu-yue (張五岳), professor at Tamkang University's Institute of China Studies, has talked to a number of voters in Hong Kong regarding their opinions about the elections.

Some voters were hesitant to vote for the pro-democracy camp even though they were supportive of its candidates, Chang said.

"They feared a landslide victory for the pro-democracy side would provoke Beijing to further tighten its grip on the region's democratic development. They had mixed feelings about the elections," he said.

China would be upset if the pro-Beijing and pro-government camp did not gain a satisfactory number of seats in the Legislative Council (LegCo) after making "unprecedented" efforts to control the outcome of the elections, Chang said.

According to Chang, Beijing's strategy was to secure at least one seat for its favored candidate in each constituency.
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