Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule in 1997 marked a major setback for democratic government there. The Chinese communist government "set up shop" in Hong Kong by getting a small circle of 400 people picked by Beijing to elect a "provisional legislative council" in lieu of a legislature elected by the people. Instead of monitoring the functions of the executive branch, the legislature has become a rubber stamp. Meanwhile, the executive branch, which already monopolized power and prioritized the interests of businesspeople, has become even more reckless.
Ruled by businessmen, Hong Kong's government has become unbalanced. The rights of residents have been drastically rolled back. Being Chinese, they are happy to have been freed from British rule, but as human beings, they are angry at the loss of democracy and freedoms.
At the constitutional level, the formulation of the Basic Law was undemocratic. The will of the people was not res-pected. No ballot was ever held for the people to confirm the use of the Basic Law as the mini-constitution for Hong Kong. Besides, many articles in the Basic Law restrict the legislature's powers to enact laws as well as its supervisory functions over the executive branch.
The Basic Law also stipulates that the chief executive shall be elected by an election committee consisting of 800 members. It also limits the number of Legislative Council seats to be directly elected by the people. As a result, the first Legislative Council has only 20 directly elected seats -- a violation of the principle of universal suffrage.
At the constitutional level, the Chinese government already controls Hong Kong's future development entirely, thereby curbing the Hong Kong people's rights to democratic participation.
The promise to have "Hong Kong people rule Hong Kong" was discarded long ago.
The limited franchise is in fact a tactic for the politically privileged class to defend their own interests. How ironic and sad it is that Hong Kong now has a more authoritarian electoral system than the one it had in the colonial era. But the unprecedentedly high turnout at the first Legislative Council election in 1998 washed away the bad name of Hong Kong people as politically aloof. The residents used their votes to show support for democracy and their dissatisfaction with the special administrative region (SAR) government.
The people of Hong Kong know clearly that the territory is now part of China, and that Hong Kong cannot go it alone on the path to democracy. A democratic political system is a basic right that every citizen is entitled to. While emphasizing economic reforms, China must also speed up the pace of political reforms and allow democracy to develop. It must also guarantee the basic rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. Only then can the spirit of "one country, two systems" be realized in Hong Kong. Only then can the Taiwanese people's suspicions about Beijing's credibility be eased.
However, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's (董建華) poor leadership and governance has worked against Hong Kong people over the past six years. Tung is given to one-sided views, nepotism, covering up his mistakes, indecision, capricious policymaking and contempt for public opinion.
Today, the rich-poor gap has widened in Hong Kong. Politi-cally, it has become a haven for special privileges. The rule of law is not respected; the economy has shrunk on all fronts. What's more, laborers have lost their jobs; the middle class has negative equity; education has withered; the quality of life has fallen; society is filled with complaints. Also, the heavy-handed Article 23 would trample on human rights and do away with the freedoms that the people have always valued and taken seriously.
In a democratic country, the leadership would have long ago stepped down. Deplorably, the SAR government is not a product of popular will.
Common sense is more or less the same for everybody. Seeing that Hong Kong's democracy, human rights, freedoms and the rule of law have been trampled on since the handover -- and this in fact violates the promises of a high level of autonomy and that "Hong Kong people shall rule Hong Kong" -- how can the people of Taiwan have a friendly, optimistic view of "one country, two systems"?
The Chinese communist government has avoided crude interference in Hong Kong's affairs over the past six years, except for when the National People's Congress overturned a Hong Kong court ruling in 1999. This, however, is not because of the Chinese government's generosity, but because it has arranged for the Tung government to be its puppet.
In its every act, the Tung government has never considered the position of the Hong Kong people. On the contrary, it has defended the interests of the Chinese communist government, pro-China people and businessmen at every turn. Besides, the SAR government continues to use the colonial government's methods and ignores the residents' interests. It has been favorably biased toward the industrial and business elite. This reflects the fact that the interests of the general public cannot be treated fairly under dictatorial governments.
The people of Taiwan are perhaps very clear about this reasoning. In Hong Kong, however, the British and Chinese communist governments have long emphasized the separation of politics from economics. Democrats will have to expend enormous efforts to convince the residents that the two are inseparable.
The people of Hong Kong have become aware that there are problems in the system. During the demonstration on July 1, more than 500,000 people took an important step in the struggle for democracy, thereby making it a historic day. Undeniably, the local constitution -- the basis for the current Hong Kong government -- restricts the development of democracy. On top of this is the power of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
It will not be easy for Hong Kong to move toward real democracy, but this should not obstruct the Hong Kong people's struggle for democracy because no dictatorial political system can match the power of a people fighting for democracy. The development of democracy in Taiwan attests to this point. From martial law under the KMT to the Kaohsiung Incident to today's situation, in which the people of Taiwan can vote to elect their own president, the primary factor has been that the Taiwanese public have never abandoned their quest for democracy.
Therefore, only by learning from history can we look forward to the future development of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Beijing government and its puppets are still obsessed with black-or-white political ideology. They simply cannot understand that there could be an alternative to the CCP's unification model.
With a dictatorial government's thinking, it will be difficult for them to understand a democratic, free and open society. More exchanges and more understanding will be beneficial to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan alike. This will also be a winning solution for all three sides.
Emily Lau is a legislative councilor in Hong Kong and convener of the Frontier Party.
Translated by Francis Huang
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