The Chinese Communist Party’s revision of Hong Kong’s electoral system has caused a major setback in democracy in Hong Kong, and universal suffrage is nowhere in sight. Hong Kong’s senior commentator Liu Ruishao analyzed that after the Chinese Communist Party took over Hong Kong, in fact, it never wanted to give Hong Kong people democracy, and the past talk of political reform was deployed in response to the internal situation of the Chinese Communist Party at that time, not sincerely.
Last Tuesday (March 30), the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China (NPC) passed amendments to Annexes I and II of the Basic Law, concerning the methods for selecting the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. With only 20 directly elected seats left in the Legislative Council, there are multiple hurdles, including the Candidature Commission, making it even more difficult for democrats to stand for election. At the same time, the 117 seats of the Election Committee, which is responsible for electing the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, have all been abolished for District Council members. This major change has aroused international concern and condemnation, completely stifling the will of Hong Kong people.
Liu Ruishao, a senior commentator in Hong Kong who is familiar with Chinese affairs, analyzed the process of the Chinese Communist Party’s full takeover of Hong Kong. He said that when the Chinese Communist Party took over Hong Kong, that is, at the beginning of the handover, people in the system at that time described the mentality of the Chinese Communist Party as “countless in their hearts”: “In the political culture of the Chinese Communist Party, there is a disease called fox suspicion, like a fox, everything is afraid, everything is suspicious, called fox suspicion. It is afraid that the British Hong Kong government is the old and the young. Will it secretly disobey? I hope Tung Chee-hwa can hold down the line, so ‘countless in mind’.” Subsequently, the Chinese Communist Party slowly “have a number in mind”: “It means that the original civil service leaders, at that time, in addition to Chen Fang Ansheng, in fact, how many people will really come out of the top? The said top is to confront you. So, it slowly slowly have a number in mind.”
By 2002, the second Chief Executive election all went well, in 2005, Tung Kin-wah will “foot pain” to step down, by the original British Hong Kong government civil servants Donald Tsang to take over, he said, at that time, Beijing psychological number: “you class of civil servants high official, guarantee you, you will certainly be before is kneeling worship British Hong Kong, you must now kneel down and worship Beijing.” The Chinese Communist Party, in order to look good, in the Chief Executive election after Donald Tsang did the rest of Tung Kin-wah’s term, allowed the democrats to run in the election Leung Ka-kit: “Not really competitive, but all give the impression is willing to try, do the show are done.”
As the Chinese Communist Party promised in 2007 that there would be universal suffrage in 2017, so in 2012 everyone was discussing the dual-vote election in Hong Kong, but in fact there is a “slingshot hand, slingshot mouth”, Liu Ruishao said: “That is, the language inside according to the Chinese Communist Party’s wording, context, the meaning of this 2017 can have universal suffrage What is it? The meaning is that the conditions are ripe to elect, the conditions are not ripe will not have.”
So in 2010, the Democratic Party of Hong Kong made a historic visit to the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to promote the first passage of the political reform package in the Legislative Council. At that time, the Democratic Party was very much blamed, he thinks not to blame the Democratic Party, “because at that time, the message from all sides, the tacit understanding of all parties is that Beijing told Hong Kong people can have universal suffrage in 2017, so even the establishment, even the SAR government officials at the time felt that if universal suffrage can be implemented in 2017, in 2012, the Chief Executive election is not forward a little bit So even the establishment, even the SAR government officials at the time, felt that if universal suffrage could be implemented in 2017, the Chief Executive election in 2012 would not move forward a little bit, and could not stay in the 2007 package. So, 2012 should be a little more relaxed, this at the time the SAR government, the establishment are constantly pushing. Because the establishment felt that if this relaxed a little, I have the opportunity to play, each consider their own interests.”
Liu Ruishao said that the Democratic Party at the time through the system reform program, is according to the civil survey: “We all want to take a step forward. Since it is such a time, some compromise program first take, in terms of the climate at the time, can really ‘bag live first’.”
He stressed that it was Xi Jinping who agreed to adopt the program: “Because Xi Jinping had taken over the position of head of the Hong Kong and Macau Coordination Group of Zeng Qinghong in 2007. So this one if it is ok above, it is good for Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping at that time not sitting stable, he not on the highest position, so he then also need to build an open image, each other count just.”
But after that, Beijing began to feel that the Democratic Party’s prestige was increasing so fast that it was afraid that it would get higher and higher when Beijing couldn’t even manage: “The Democratic Party is the enemy of the left and right, the enemy of the front and back, that is, the radicals are scolding him again, and Beijing is starting to unleash the machine to scold him again. So, we all see the truth, the question is why Beijing lost the fight to win? This reflects its mentality is not really want Hong Kong to have true universal suffrage, from the program before the reunification, guard the front door, guard the back door randomly choose one, it is not willing to, to later how it will relax it?”
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