On the occasion of the two sessions of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Beijing has been experiencing continuous cloudy days. The picture shows the scene outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 5, where hazy weather conditions are visible.
The ongoing National People’s Congress of China (NPC) will consider a draft resolution to change Hong Kong‘s electoral system, including a drastic reduction in the proportion of directly elected Legislative Council seats, the full implementation of the principle of “patriots ruling Hong Kong” and the establishment of a “new democratic electoral system with Hong Kong characteristics. “The draft resolution is a major step forward. This has caused a public outcry in Hong Kong and around the world. What does this mean for the future of Hong Kong? Radio Free Asia correspondent Jia Ao invited Kim Chung, editor-in-chief of Hong Kong’s Open magazine, and Chen Kuide, executive chairman of the Princeton China Society, to analyze this.
Reporter: Mr. Chan Kui Tak, recently a number of Hong Kong media reported that the Bill proposes to create more seats for the Chief Executive Election Committee, abolish the seats for the District Council Election Committee, increase the number of seats for the Legislative Council, etc. This will significantly reduce the proportion of directly elected seats. What do these changes to the electoral system mean for Hong Kong’s political situation?
Chan Kui Tak: This is of course to ensure that candidates for positions such as Hong Kong’s Chief Executive who are favored by the (Communist) Central Committee will be elected in the next election. We know that the pan-democratic forces won big in last year’s district council elections, so the central government decided to cut these seats, which I think is an attempt to blatantly, directly and nakedly deprive Hong Kong people of their basic right to vote, and to make sure that all elections are controlled by the central government.
Reporter: Mr. Admiralty, what do you think again?
Admiralty: These changes involve mainly the Chief Executive election and the District Council election. Because the District Council election has a wide contact with the general electorate and better reflects the independent and autonomous will of Hong Kong people, the central government has to drastically reduce the number of District Council election committee seats. The CE election, on the other hand, involves higher positions that the central government can more easily control, such as adding more pro-China representatives and leftists. All in all, the general trend is that the central government’s control over Hong Kong is getting tighter and tighter.
Reporter: Mr. Chen Kuaid, Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Chinese National People’s Congress (NPC), said at the opening ceremony of the NPC on Friday that the purpose of reforming Hong Kong’s system is to establish “a new democratic electoral system with Hong Kong characteristics”. How do you interpret such a statement?
Chen Kui-Te: He is just changing the wording, which actually means that the Chinese Communist Party has more control, so the new electoral system is a system without real elections. In other words, the central government is trying to remove all the uncertainty of the only elections that existed in the past.
Reporter: Mr. Chen Kui De, Chinese (CCP) CPPCC Chairman Wang Yang emphasized in his opening speech at the CPPCC meeting on Thursday that Beijing “firmly supports the full implementation of the principle of ‘patriots ruling Hong Kong'” without mentioning the “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” policy formulated by Deng Xiaoping back then. The policy of “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” was not mentioned. In your opinion, what kind of people do the authorities consider to be “patriots”?
Chen Kuide: “Patriots ruling Hong Kong” basically means people who support the Chinese Communist Party ruling Hong Kong. In other words, this basically excludes the possibility of pan-democrats being elected as the Chief Executive, and the central government has blocked these people from being qualified as candidates. However, we also notice that Li Keqiang still mentioned in his government work report the “one country, two systems, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong, and a high degree of autonomy” proposed by Deng Xiaoping back then, without mentioning the so-called “patriots ruling Hong Kong”. It is very interesting that there is a difference between the speech of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the work report of the State Council, which I think is something we should pay attention to.
Reporter: Mr. Admiralty, many years ago there were opposing voices saying that Hong Kong people did not stand up for democracy during the British rule, so what is the reason to fight for democracy under the Chinese Communist Party now? What do you think about such a comment?
Admiralty: It is not that Hong Kong did not fight for democracy during the colonial period, in fact Britain laid out a set of elected plans in Hong Kong a long Time ago. But as the Chinese Communist Party became more and more influential in Hong Kong, the British understood that sooner or later they would have to pack their bags and leave. The British were more practical and they thought that it was not feasible to fight Beijing directly by promoting democracy in Hong Kong until 1997, when the British handed over sovereignty, and then “one country, two systems, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong” emerged.
Reporter: Mr. Chen Kuaid, the Heritage Foundation, a U.S. think tank, removed Hong Kong from the latest edition of the Index of Economic Freedom for the first time, and included it in the China score along with Macau. For the past 20 years or so, Hong Kong has been ranked first almost every year. If the political situation continues in this way, how will Hong Kong’s status change in the future? And is this a good or bad thing for China (the Chinese Communist Party)?
Chen Kui-Te: A change in Hong Kong’s status would obviously be a tragedy for Hong Kong, and certainly for the Chinese. In the near future, if the international community does not intervene very strongly and take substantial action, Hong Kong may be reduced to the same status as the Chinese mainland cities, just like this index. But for now, it seems that the CCP does not want to destroy Hong Kong’s status as the freest transit point for goods, capital and people between mainland China and the West, otherwise the CCP power elite will lose a lot of their interests in Hong Kong. If all the elites in Hong Kong leave Hong Kong, then the CCP won’t be able to play.
Reporter: Thank you both!
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