The Chinese Communist Party is taking great strides to end “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong. Following former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s revelation that the election of the Chief Executive would be “appointed through consultation”, Ta Kung Pao, the mouthpiece of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, recently published a commentary, claiming that not electing the Chief Executive “does not violate the Basic Law” and that Hong Kong should “bid farewell to Western values”. values”.
Ta Kung Pao published an opinion article on Tuesday (26), “Out of the myth of Western-style democracy, consultative election is in line with the Basic Law”, claiming that Hong Kong’s Chief Executive can be elected through a “democratic consultation” mechanism, and that not electing him “does not violate the legal framework of the Basic Law”.
The article also stressed that “Hong Kong should practice the Hong Kong way and say goodbye to Western values”.
In response, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she did not want to get involved in the debate on whether the method of selecting the Chief Executive should be changed, but stressed that no matter how the Chief Executive is selected, he or she will ultimately be appointed by Beijing.
She said again, however, that Annex I of the Basic Law is what stipulates the method of electing the Chief Executive, and that if the Chief Executive were to be elected by consultation instead, Annex I of the Basic Law would need to be amended.
The next CE election will not be held for more than a year yet. A few days ago, former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said for the first Time that the abolition of the election and the change to consultation would “not violate the Basic Law”. This issue not only aroused opposition from the democratic camp, but also sparked a debate within the pro-establishment camp.
Democrats say that the Basic Law does say that the Chief Executive “shall be selected through consultations or by election”, but the so-called “consultations” are for the initial stage of the transfer of power, and the Basic Law also specifies that the ultimate goal is “universal suffrage for the Chief Executive”. However, the so-called “consultation” is for the initial period after the handover of power, and the Basic Law also specifies that the ultimate goal is to elect the Chief Executive by universal suffrage. If it is changed to “selection by consultation”, it is tantamount to a retrogression in democracy.
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