Beijing will not allow full democracy in Hong Kong in 2007 despite growing demands in the territory for universal suffrage and a constitution that leaves open such a possibility, Hong Kong newspapers said yesterday.
Talks between Hong Kong and Beijing on election reforms are just a show, and Beijing has already ruled out direct elections for the next chief executive in 2007, the South China Morning Post said, quoting a local source close to China's government.
The source, who was not identified, said Beijing would take a tougher position on Hong Kong if pro-democracy forces become the dominant power in the territory's top law-making body in elections in September and work against China-backed leaders. The source did not spell out what Beijing would do, but said it could develop its own plan to deal with the situation.
In 1997, Beijing established a provisional legislature and effectively dismantled electoral changes made by Britain in the waning years of colonial rule.
"According to my interpretation, they won't allow universal suffrage in 2007 unless they don't care about Hong Kong any more," said Raymond Wu, a Hong Kong deputy to the Chinese parliament, the National People's Congress.
Wu said recent opposition to the Hong Kong government's proposed anti-subversion law might have discouraged Beijing from allowing popular elections.
Half a million people poured into the streets last July to denounce attempts by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) to push through the tough security bill, which critics feared would be used against anyone critical of China.
Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 and both sides agreed that the former colony would enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years.
Hong Kong's constitution allows the possibility of direct elections for chief executive and all of the Legislative Council from 2007. But it also says Beijing must approve any election reforms, which means China has the final say.
China's Communist Party clearly fears growing demands for full democracy could threaten its control over the territory and possibly spread to the mainland.
Widespread anger against Tung, who is backed by China but not popularly elected, has fuelled demands for more democracy.
While much public frustration has been directed against Tung and not against China's leaders, political analysts believe that Beijing's increasingly hardline stance will alienate more people before the legislative elections later this year.
Recent opinion polls show two-thirds of Hong Kong people want to elect their own leader and all of their legislators from 2007.
Joseph Cheng of Power for Democracy, a think tank working along-side pro-democracy parties, said democrats are organizing a rally to push for more voting rights on July 1 -- to mark the seventh anniversary of the handover and to coincide with the massive protest last year.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS