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Hong Kong Election Plan Appears Unlikely to Win Lawmakers’ Approval Hong Kong Election Plan Appears Unlikely to Win Lawmakers’ Approval
(about 5 hours later)
HONG KONG — Six months after the protests that paralyzed parts of Hong Kong for weeks, lawmakers here are set to reject the proposal that triggered the demonstrations, intending to vote down a plan vetted in Beijing that would change the way this former British colony selects its top official. HONG KONG — The issue of how to choose Hong Kong’s chief executive is once again threatening to convulse the city’s politics.
Barring last-minute changes of heart by a handful of representatives, backers and opponents alike say the local government lacks the votes to secure passage of the proposal, which would allow all of Hong Kong’s registered voters to pick the chief executive from a slate of up to three candidates chosen by a panel dominated by Beijing loyalists. Barring a last-minute change of heart, lawmakers here are set to decide this week that, rather than accept an election plan in which all candidates must effectively be approved by Beijing, they would rather have no direct election at all.
If the measure is defeated, Hong Kong will keep its current system, in which a small, elite group of about 1,200 selects the chief executive. Any future efforts to expand the franchise would be put in limbo. The city erupted in mass demonstrations about 10 months ago when the plan was first outlined. Activists argued that it fell far short of the democratic system the city was promised when Britain handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Now a formal bill is up for a vote before the city’s 70-member Legislative Council, where enough lawmakers have declared opposition to the plan to deny it the required two-thirds majority to pass.
The vote this week bookends the most momentous year in Hong Kong politics since China regained sovereignty in 1997, under the “one country, two systems” arrangement that allows the city’s 7.2 million residents to largely run their own affairs, keeping their British-inherited legal system and civil liberties while flying the flag of the People’s Republic of China. A rejection would leave the current system in place, with the chief executive chosen by a committee of about 1,200 members of Hong Kong’s political and economic elite, rather than by the city’s voters.
Opposition to the election proposal, which follows strict guidelines laid down last August by China’s Communist Party-controlled National People’s Congress, exploded onto Hong Kong’s streets late last year, with tens of thousands of demonstrators staging sit-in protests that shut down some major arteries in Asia’s most important financial hub for more than two months. The vote this week bookends the most momentous year in Hong Kong politics since China regained sovereignty under a “one country, two systems” arrangement that allows the city’s 7.2 million residents to largely run their own affairs. Hong Kong retained the legal system and civil liberties it inherited from Britain, while flying the flag of the People’s Republic of China.
To pass, the measure must garner two-thirds support from the 70 members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, which will begin debating the proposal on Wednesday. But more than a third of the lawmakers, many of whom took part in the protests last year, plan to vote against it — enough to block its passage. They say the Beijing-backed measure would result in fake democracy that gives voters no real choice. Rejection of the election proposal, which follows strict guidelines laid down by Beijing, would be a blow to the Hong Kong government. But it also underscores how the city’s democracy advocates have failed to wrest any substantive concessions from Beijing despite months of protests. The Chinese government rejected their calls to allow voters to have a wider choice of candidates.
While rejection of the proposal would be a blow to the Hong Kong government, it also underscores democracy advocates’ failure to wrest any substantive concession from Beijing. The Chinese government rejected their calls to allow voters to have a wider choice of candidates. That leaves the pro-democracy camp with the grim task of continuing to campaign for years, if not decades, to come for a system that would meet global standards for democratic elections. They face a Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping that says free elections and civil liberties like press freedom are foreign influences that threaten the Communist Party’s 65-year hold on power in China.
That leaves the pro-democracy camp with the grim task of campaigning for years, if not decades, for a system that meets global standards for democratic elections. And they face a Chinese leadership under President Xi Jinping that says free elections and civil liberties like press freedom are foreign influences that threaten the Communist Party’s 65-year hold on power in China. “We just have to continue with the struggle,” Emily Lau, a lawmaker who heads the Democratic Party and who plans to vote against the measure, said by telephone. “I know some young people, they are very unhappy, they are impatient, and they say that, ‘Well, you have tried all this for so many years, and it’s not yielded any result.’ I say, ‘O.K. What do you think we should do? I’m not here to wage a revolution.’ ”
“We just have to continue with the struggle,” Emily Lau, a lawmaker who heads the Democratic Party and who plans to vote against the measure, said by telephone. “I know some young people, they are very unhappy, they are impatient, and they say that, ‘Well, you have tried all this for so many years, and it’s not yielded any result.’ I say, ‘O.K. What do you think we should do? I’m not here to wage a revolution.’” Supporters of the election proposal say it is a big improvement over the current system because it at least gives Hong Kong’s people the opportunity to choose among multiple candidates. Direct elections will give the post of chief executive more legitimacy, they say. And even if the names on the ballot will be restricted to a narrow range of people acceptable to Beijing, they will still need to appeal to a broad segment of the electorate in order to win.
Supporters of the election proposal say that giving Hong Kong’s people the right to vote for candidates is a big improvement over the current system. Elections will give the post of chief executive more legitimacy, they say, and the winning candidate, even if he or she comes from a narrow range of people, would still need to appeal to a broad swath of the electorate in order to win. Backers of the measure, including the current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, say Hong Kong should “pocket” the proposal now — in other words, make it law — and then work to improve it in the future. On Tuesday, Chinese officials were making it clear that future changes to the election system were possible.
Backers of the measure, including the current chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, say Hong Kong should “pocket” the proposal now — make it law — and work to improve it in the future. On Tuesday, Chinese officials were making it clear that future changes to the election system were possible.
“The Hong Kong government’s proposal is democratic, open, fair and just,” Song Ru’an, a Hong Kong-based official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters, adding that no system “would remain unchanged forever.”“The Hong Kong government’s proposal is democratic, open, fair and just,” Song Ru’an, a Hong Kong-based official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters, adding that no system “would remain unchanged forever.”
A slim majority of Hong Kong adults support the measure, according to a poll conducted by a consortium of Hong Kong universities from June 11 to 15. Some 45 percent of those polled backed the government’s proposal, with 40 percent opposed. The margin of sampling error on the survey is plus or minus three percentage points. At least 200 people were polled each day in the poll, which has tracked support for the proposal for the past two months. Hong Kong adults favor the measure by a narrow margin of 45 percent in favor to 40 percent opposed, according to a poll conducted by a consortium of Hong Kong universities from June 11 to June 15.The margin of sampling error in the survey is plus or minus three percentage points. At least 200 people were interviewed each day in the poll, which has tracked support for the proposal for the past two months.
Under British colonial rule, Hong Kong residents enjoyed rights unavailable on the mainland. But London appointed the colonial governor. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which has governed the territory since 1997, says the system is to eventually evolve into one where the people vote for the chief executive, from among candidates selected by a “broadly representative nominating committee.” Beijing, as it does now, would have final veto power over anyone the Hong Kong people elected. In 2007, China’s National People’s Congress set a timeline for that transition, saying the chief executive could be chosen by universal suffrage in the 2017 election. Under British colonial rule, Hong Kong residents enjoyed rights unavailable on the mainland, but the colonial governor was appointed by London. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which has governed the territory since 1997, calls for the system to evolve eventually into one in which voters elect the chief executive from among candidates selected by a “broadly representative nominating committee.” The national government in Beijing would have final veto power over anyone the voters chose, as it does now. The National People’s Congress set a timeline for that transition in 2007, saying the chief executive could be chosen by universal suffrage beginning with an election in 2017.
But the National People’s Congress must sign off on any changes to that mini-constitution, called the Basic Law, and it made clear last August that a system that allowed candidates deemed unfriendly to Beijing was not acceptable. But the National People’s Congress must sign off on any changes to that mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, and the congress made clear last August that it would not accept a system that allowed candidates to run who were deemed unfriendly to Beijing.
“It is patently clear they want a 100 percent risk-free election,” Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong’s No. 2 official under the last colonial administration as well as in the first government under Chinese sovereignty, said by telephone. “It is patently clear they want a 100 percent risk-free election,” Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong’s No. 2 official under the last colonial administration and in the first government under Chinese sovereignty, said by telephone.
Beijing’s suspicious view of the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong was evident during last year’s protests, when editorial after editorial in the Communist Party-controlled publications warned of “foreign forces” behind the protests. People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece, said in an editorial last week that the election proposal was designed to exclude people who resist China’s rule from Hong Kong’s political scene. Beijing’s suspicious view of the pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong was evident during last year’s protests, when editorial after editorial in the Communist Party-controlled publications warned of “foreign forces” behind the protests. People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece, said in an editorial last week that the election proposal was designed to exclude from Hong Kong’s political scene anyone who resists China’s rule of the territory.
On Tuesday, Mr. Leung told reporters that the acts of civil disobedience seen during last year’s protests may lead some people to violence. He spoke following the arrest of 10 people on Sunday and Monday who were accused of conspiring to manufacture explosives. The police said that at least one was a member of a “local radical organization.”On Tuesday, Mr. Leung told reporters that the acts of civil disobedience seen during last year’s protests may lead some people to violence. He spoke following the arrest of 10 people on Sunday and Monday who were accused of conspiring to manufacture explosives. The police said that at least one was a member of a “local radical organization.”
Despite the antagonism between Mr. Leung and opponents of the government proposal, including Ms. Lau and Mrs. Chan, all three agreed on one point: Following the vote, Hong Kong’s politicians should try to work with one another to tackle pressing economic and social issues in the city, including a rising gap between rich and poor. Despite the antagonism between Mr. Leung and opponents of the government proposal, including Ms. Lau and Mrs. Chan, all three agreed on one point: After the vote, Hong Kong’s politicians should try to work with one another to tackle pressing economic and social issues in the city, including a rising gap between rich and poor.
Some democracy advocates are looking beyond the 2017 chief executive election to the next one, set for 2022, to push Beijing for more acceptable guidelines. That is the year Mr. Xi is set to step down as the Communist Party’s top leader. Some democracy advocates are looking beyond 2017 to the following chief executive election, set for 2022, as the time to push Beijing for more democratic guidelines. Mr. Xi would be due to to step down as the Communist Party’s top leader that year.
But Joshua Wong, the student leader who became the public face of last year’s protest movement, said Tuesday that he now believes the Communist government in Beijing will never countenance free elections in Hong Kong. But Joshua Wong, the student leader who became the public face of last year’s protest movement, said on Tuesday that he now believes the Communist government in Beijing will never countenance free elections in Hong Kong.
Mr. Wong, who will be 50 years old in 2047, the year Hong Kong’s special status under the “one country, two systems” formula comes to an end, says the real challenge now is for young people to work to create a system that preserves Hong Kong’s rights after that date. Mr. Wong was born the year before Britain handed Hong Kong over, and he will be 50 when its special status under the “one country, two systems” formula is scheduled to expire in 2047. He said that the real challenge now is for young people to work to create a system that will preserve Hong Kong’s rights after that date.
“Democracy does not come overnight,” Mr. Wong said.“Democracy does not come overnight,” Mr. Wong said.