Hong Kong’s Democracy Dreams
2017/7/20 17:15:56 Source： The New York Times
HONG KONG — Xi Jinping is visiting Hong Kong this week for the first time as president to celebrate the 20th anniversary, on Saturday, of the city’s reunification with China. The government here is lining the central district’s streets with festive lanterns and flags for the celebration, while the police are preparing water cannons for the demonstrators who will come out in force to protest Beijing’s increasing encroachment on the city.
Thousands of democracy advocates occupied major roads in the business district for three months in the fall of 2014, in what became known as the Umbrella Movement, after Beijing ruled that Hong Kongers are not permitted to freely elect their leader. Since then, as the pro-democracy camp has gained traction in fits and starts, the leadership on the mainland has remained steadfast in its view of Hong Kong as a Chinese territory that ultimately answers to Beijing.
We can expect pro-democracy protests this Saturday, but experience shows that demonstrations will not change Beijing’s position. The fact is that Hong Kong is a Chinese territory, and we Hong Kongers have to live by Beijing’s rules. Hong Kong could have only a form of democracy that is acceptable to China’s leaders.
Hong Kong has, in fact, become more democratic in the 20 years since the end of British rule. More members of the Legislative Council are freely elected. The legislature has become more autonomous and assertive compared with its forebear in the colonial era. It has investigated the executive branch for breaches of the law, making it a powerful check on executive power.
More democracy has brought greater transparency, accountability and social justice to our citizens. People have a much greater voice in governance.
But the city has paid a price for embracing more democracy. The Hong Kong government has become less efficient and more divided than in the colonial era. An anti-business, anti-development and anti-mainland China ideology permeates debates in the legislature, which has become fractious and dysfunctional. It’s hard to make the case that more democratic freedom has been a net gain for the city’s more than seven million residents.
Filibustering in the legislature has slowed down many development projects, making land and housing shortages more acute, and hindering efforts to catch up with the rapid advances of neighboring mainland Chinese cities. As summer recess neared, the legislature’s finance committee had approved only about half of the budgeted projects for the 2017-18 fiscal year.
The dysfunction of Hong Kong’s legislature may also be a reflection of frustrations with high-speed growth, which appears to be breeding more inequality. Perhaps it is part of a global hostility to the excesses of capitalism. Whatever the cause, we have good reason to pause and reflect deeply on what sort of political system best suits our future development.
Like or not, we are part of China, not only politically, but culturally and economically. When Moody’s downgraded China’s debt credit rating in May, ours was downgraded in tandem.
And Beijing has reiterated, since publication of its white paper on “one country, two systems” in 2014, that the standing committee of China’s legislature has the power to interpret Hong Kong’s local laws. Under China’s centralized system, cities, provinces and regions have no inherent power of their own. All the powers enjoyed by Hong Kong are given by Beijing, and can be taken back.
Our best bet lies in nurturing a harmonious and supportive relationship with mainland China. It’s encouraging that some moderate democrats appear to have shifted their strategy by suggesting a more open dialogue with the central leadership. Several moderate democrats reportedly plan to attend a dinner with Mr. Xi this week.
Beijing, however, would be wrong to ignore Hong Kong’s democracy movement. The fringe is becoming more extreme, with increasing calls in recent years for outright independence, a move that a majority of Hong Kongers reject. Most young people are unhappy with the political situation, and the nation’s leaders could find themselves with a much bigger challenge down the line.
While Beijing might be content with the election of Carrie Lam, a seasoned and popular civil servant who will be inaugurated on Saturday as Hong Kong’s next leader, the undercurrent for change could return with a vengeance in just a few years’ time.
