Like many of his colleagues in the Hong Kong press, A-chieh (a pseudonym) left the territory after the Beijing-imposed National Security Law made reporting freely a potentially illegal act for journalists.
The 1997 Basic Law had promised Hong Kong universal suffrage for both chief executive and Legislative Council elections. However, hopes for a free and fair vote have been almost extinguished as China, led by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), incrementally turned governance in the territory into a closed shop open only to Beijing-approved candidates.
“We used to think the police would never shoot tear gas or open fire on us [during pro-
Photo: CNA
democracy protests]. We used to think there would always be a chance to vote,” said A-chieh, who now resides temporarily in Taiwan as a freelance journalist.
The same has been true for Hong Kong’s press. Fearing prosecution under the National Security Law, which was introduced in 2020, nearly all independent media in Hong Kong has opted to shutter or hand over ownership to pro-government owners.
A-chieh now finds himself in a much different political scene. Campaigning is in full swing for Taiwan’s local elections on Saturday, which will see voters choose 11,023 local government officials, including mayors, county commissioners and councilors.
Drawing on the experience of Hong Kong, A-chieh warned that complacency could jeopardize Taiwan’s democracy.
The voters “are not as involved in elections as before,” A-chieh said, urging Taiwanese to “cherish each ballot cast as if it were their last.”
China has been able to dismantle a system that had promised Hong Kongers universal suffrage and press freedom in part due to public apathy and a belated realization of the importance of voting, he said.
“In the past, people in Hong Kong were not enthusiastic about elections, with voter turnout averaging as low as about 40 percent. It was not until 2019 that Hong Kong had a record 71 percent turnout — but it was too late. Beijing overhauled the electoral system last year, and it became meaningless to cast a ballot,” he said.
Another former Hong Kong journalist, who gave her name as Miss Huang, said there used to be extensive media coverage of Taiwan’s elections in Hong Kong, but that was not the case this year.
Since the introduction of the National Security Law, media outlets in Hong Kong have “refrained from reporting political news about Taiwan, let alone the elections,” said Huang, who moved to Taiwan several years ago.
This year’s vote contrasts starkly with Taiwan’s January 2020 presidential election, which Huang said drew large numbers of Hong Kong tourists keen to observe democracy in action.
However, Huang said she did not expect to see many Hong Kongers travel to Taiwan to witness the elections this year, as civil society groups and pro-democracy activists have seen their activities curtailed by the National Security Law.
Nevertheless, many people in Hong Kong would still be closely watching this year’s elections in Taiwan.
“I often got asked by my friends in Hong Kong about the elections. We wished people in Taiwan would cherish the right to vote,” she said.
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