The election of Beijing’s favored candidate, former Hong Kong chief secretary for administration Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) as the territory’s new chief executive shows that China’s “one country, two systems” framework, which guarantees a high degree of autonomy to the territory, is an empty promise, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday.
Despite her low popularity, Lam won Sunday’s election with 67 percent of the votes cast by the Election Committee.
There are 3.7 million registered voters in Hong Kong, but the chief executive is elected by a 1,194-member committee, making the vote a “bird cage” election, whereby Hong Kongers are represented by a small number of individuals, DPP Legislator Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said.
The election bankrupted the “one country, two systems” framework and weakened the little confidence Taiwanese had in Beijing, Wu said.
The unfairness of Hong Kong’s electoral system in 2014 led to the Occupy Central movement that sought universal suffrage, and Taiwanese, accustomed to universal suffrage, were sympathetic to the movement, Wu said.
Had the Hong Kong election been a direct one, the result would not have been the same, as Lam had an approval rating of 29 percent ahead of the vote, while her main rival, former Hong Kong financial secretary John Tsang (曾俊華), had 56 percent, Wu said.
“Why was there such a ridiculous election? Because the Chinese Communist Party puts its hands into Hong Kong and deprives Hong Kongers of the opportunity to seek freedom. This serves as a clear reminder for Taiwanese that we must ensure that opportunity for future generations,” Wu said.
Hong Kong used to be a leading society in Asia in terms of democratic development, but its democracy has diminished as Beijing has tightened its grip on the territory, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) said, questioning whether Beijing has failed in its promise to protect the territory’s autonomy for 50 years.
“Without the opportunity to have fair elections or freedom of speech, is the so-called ‘one country, two system’ the way of the future?” Lee asked.
Former premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺), who had been sympathetic of Hong Kong’s electoral system, said “one country, two systems” was being emptied out, Lee said.
In addition to its inability to reflect public opinion, Hong Kong’s electoral system screens candidates in Beijing’s favor, as a prospective candidate needs to be endorsed by at least 150 members from a nominating committee, which is dominated by pro-Beijing elites, DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said.
“Do Taiwanese want a system that limits candidacy and only generates undesirable candidates?” Yeh said. “The Hong Kong system shows that what ‘one country, two systems’ stipulates is fake democracy.”
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
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