Five pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong resigned yesterday, vowing to turn the resulting elections into a populist referendum for universal suffrage in defiance of warnings from China.
About 50 onlookers, with a similar number of press in attendance, applauded under leaden skies as the lawmakers staged the most high-profile challenge yet to China’s stewardship of the glitzy financial hub.
Three members of the League of Social Democrats and two from the Civic Party tendered their resignations at the Legislative Council, a toothless body in British colonial times that critics say remains a rubber stamp under Beijing.
“We are giving the opportunity back to the people to vote for real democracy,” Civic Party leader Audrey Eu (余若薇) said after her two colleagues quit.
“So we call on the people, if you truly believe in democracy, there is no reason to fear,” Eu said.
Two days before their resignations take effect on Friday, the lawmakers plan to outline their goals at what promises to be a stormy council session today as they face off against pro-Beijing forces.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) said the government “deeply regrets” the lawmakers' resignations and that their so-called referendum had no legal basis. But he said the government was under a statutory duty to organize by-elections.
“As the chief executive, I did not wish to see the situation we have arrived at today. But we have the responsibility to hold the by-election in accordance with the election ordinance,” he said in a statement.
Civic Party spokesman Kenneth Chan (陳家洛) said the law allows the government to hold by-elections any time it wants, but the party hoped they would be held by the end of May, before lawmakers break for summer.
Only half of Hong Kong's 60-seat legislature is directly elected from five geographical constituencies. The remaining “functional constituency” seats are largely selected by pro-China business elites. An 800-member election committee picked by Beijing chooses the city's chief executive.
Democrats are calling for universal suffrage in 2012, but the Chinese government has said the territory's chief executive can only be directly elected at the earliest by 2017 and the legislature by 2020.
Two weeks ago, Beijing issued a statement expressing “grave concern” over the dissident lawmakers’ referendum plan and saying they were flouting Hong Kong's legal system, which is different to mainland China's.
Constitutional reform can only take place with the approval of two-thirds of Hong Kong's legislature, meaning the democrats, who hold 23 seats, are unlikely to be able to force their agenda on policymakers.
And the democrats’ latest campaign faces a potential setback after the Liberal Party, a major pro-Beijing faction, announced last week it would not take part in any by-elections.
Another pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, indicated that it would follow the Liberals' lead.
Political observers say China is leaning on the pro-Beijing parties to shun the by-elections.
“By pressuring those political parties to boycott the by-election, Beijing hopes to trivialize the event and discourage people from casting their vote,” said Ivan Choy, a political analyst at Chinese University of Hong Kong.
An opinion poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong between Jan. 11 and Jan. 13 said that just 24 percent of the 1,008 respondents supported universal suffrage, compared with 50 percent who said they were against.
But thousands of people took to the streets on New Year's Day to call for full democracy in the territory, as well as human rights in China.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned