António dos Santos Queirós
Índice
Introduction
Essay based on the RoundTable: Hong Kong
Organized by the University Group of Debates and
Opinions of the Faculty of Letters of University of Oporto _Portugal (about 70 participants)
October 29, 2019.
This roundtable allowed the Portugal-China Chamber
of Cooperation and Development _ CCDPCh, to systematize the main issues under
discussion about Hong Kong, particularly to identify the wrong ideas and fake
news, which can be dismantled by crossing various sources unforgeable and understand the biggest gaps
in the knowledge of the history and reality of
Ong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of
China_ KKSAR, PRC.
To write the systematic of these issues, is from
the responsibility of the Secretary-General of CCDPCh, Professor António dos
Santos Queirós
Layout
In the 19th century. England first, followed by
other imperial powers of the time,
resorted to the illegal export of opium to the Chinese market, which
became a national calamity (in 1835, 450 tons to 450 million inhabitants) and
then through two wars led by its navy, successively and by military force
opened to the drug trade the ports of Fuzhou, Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai. Then, Imposed odious treats. Great Britain occupy Hong Kong, and later
another fifty ports was open to the entrance of stranger merchandises. In
parallel, England seized the secrets of tea production, which began to be
produced in other colonies and in competition [AQ1] with China.
China's economy fell into ruins and all its social
classes suffered hard, kicking off the political movements that overthrew the
imperial system and founded the Democratic Republic in 1912, led by Sun Yat
Sen.
During World War II, the Japanese occupation took
3 years and 8 months. With the unconditional surrender of Japan (1945), the
British reoccupied the territory and resumed their strategic function as a
major shopping center for Asia.
The British government then began a strong
textile-based industrialization, using cheap and without any respect to
worker's rights. recruited in China, from where millions of workers emigrated,
especially from neighboring Canton Province (Guangdong).
Hong Kong has become the world's largest commodity
port and a very important, deregulated and low-tax financial center, one of the
first tax havens that anticipated current globalization.
In Hong Kong, the first democratic rights
were conquered in the 1960s and 1970s. by the Chinese population, after massive
strikes and violent riots, which forced colonial authorities to pass labor
legislation, create some social housing and invest more in public works.
The fallacy of the identity of the people of Hong
Kong in conflict with their Chinese nationality is unfounded in the history of
the region and have not a credible scientific basis. It is a creation of
propaganda against the reunification of the Chinese People’s Republic _CPR.
British colonial
politics, regardless of its Labour or Conservative governments, developed in
Hong Kong an extreme model of economic neoliberalism, during the 1960s and 1970s, and from where a
fabulous new real estate private
business emerged, becoming
speculative, concentrating soil ownership and creating a chronic problem of
access to housing for working families and middle class..
The Legislative
Council_ Legco, only at the end of the colonial regime incorporated some
Chinese peoples and rehearsed the first elections of some of its members. Only
at the end of the colonial regime (in 1997), England, in an act inconsequent
and therefore of true political cynicism, extended the electoral college to 1/3
of the citizens and created a double passport and nationality for its elite
support, 200.000 residents, seeking to leave behind a fifth column. (The main
criterion for the assignment of the passport was the place that occupied in the
social hierarchy)
Hong Kong returned to
China in 1997, according to the political philosophy of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,
and the principle “one country, two systems”,
what means that Hong Kong is part of China and enjoys a high degree of
autonomy, except in foreign and defense policy, as stipulated by the Basic Law
of The Hong Kong Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
The political system implemented
in HK corresponds to the matrix of the
People's Republic odf China, but its economic base and legal system remained
untouched in essence; an extreme model of liberal capitalism, deregulated and
functioning on the margins of international law, with deep social inequalities,
millions of new poor (workers and students in a situation of necessity) and a
very serious problem of access to housing.
The territory,
composited by 1 104 km² of area (1 054 km² of land and 50 km² of water)
consists mainly of Hong Kong Island, Lantau, Kowloon Peninsula and the New
Territories, as well as about 260 other islands
The new postcolonial
Chinese government legally protected 60% of this land, with the status of parks
and nature reserves
25% were already urbanized.
The rest, stay in
possession of a small number of private homeowners and real estate speculators,
who enriched with a new "China deal."
On another hand, all citizens (individuals) voters of Hong Kong also
have the right to vote in direct elections for the "District
Assemblies", electing 452 members.
With the support of only 10 voters, any HK citizen can run for district
deputy.
In 2016, in compliance with the precept of progressively increasing the
democratic representation prescribed in the HK Basic Law, the Legislative
Assembly could elect 70 members, 35 elected by direct suffrage and 35 elected
by indirect suffrage, represent all the social sectors of Hong Kong,
These 35 elected by all community sectors, from the University to
Business and Trade Federations, are a new model of participatory/representative
democracy, which allows these different social sectors to choose, to control
and to evaluate its deputies during the mandate, or even replace them in the case of
serious infringement of their political duties. This means that parties do not
have the exclusivity of representation, as they complain in the West the new
democratic movements! (What a paradox!)
Already in 2007, 28
constituencies were constituted with the power to elect the Legislative
Assembly, (one more, which represents the Assemblies of Districts) composed of
approximately 212.000 representative voters (a kind of big electors), for a
total of about 7 million inhabitants.
Since the 2016
elections in HK, the constitutional field (identified with the Constitution of
the PRC) is usually represented by about 40 elected members, half of which have
been elected by direct suffrage.
The field of local democratic parties, committed to the transition
agreement and supporting the Basic Law of HK, is usually composed of about 20
members (the majority elected by direct suffrage) and the anti-constitutional
field by 6 members (all elected by direct suffrage).
None of these 6 members represents the so-called pro-democracy
movement, invented by western media. government opponents, since the end of
colonial regime, are characterized by different political positions and organic
dispersion, at the limit, defending more HK political autonomy, having in
common to reduce its proposals to the slogan of direct election of the
president of the government and the absence of a program of deep reform in the
area of the economy, what meaning, in the field of political economy, that they
defend the status quo.
The 16th session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National
People's Assembly of the CPR, held on August 28, 2010, amended HK fundamental
law, expanding the social base and democratic participation/representation of
the Election Committee, that would later elect the Chief Executive, in 2012,
composed by 1.200 members of the following sectors:
1. Industrial, commercial and financial sectors_ 300
Professions_ 300
Labour, social services, religious and other sectors_ 300
Members of the Legislative Council, representatives of members of the
District Councils, representatives of the Heung Yee Kuk (An Assembly Rural,
that is a statutory advisory
body representing the indigenous or rural inhabitants of Hong Kong new
territories), Hong
Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, and representatives of Hong
Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference_ 300
2. Candidates for the office of Chief Executive may be nominated
jointly by not less than 150 members of the Election Committee. Each member may
nominate only one candidate.
The term of office of the Election Committee shall be five years.
Hong Kong is represented in the national institutions of the People's
Republic of China, the People's Congress and the Chinese People's Consultative
Policy Conference, with a weight of electoral representation proportionally
much higher than its number of citizens.
The HK government is
committed, through the Basic Law of governing the transition agreement (which will last 50 years), to
maintaining the capitalist system and the legal apparatus created by the
colonial system.
In February 2019, the
government proposed changing the two extradition laws _ the Fugitive Offenders
and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters ordinances _in the context
the case of odious murder of a young woman, 5 months pregnant, murdered and
robbed by her boyfriend in Taiwan, forward reported by the CNN journalist. The
political process that followed was a missed opportunity to take a step further
in favor of combating organized and violent, international crime.
In the context of
demonstrations against the extradition laws, West media and the West political
propaganda transformed the declarations of some student activists in a program
of a global and united movement pro-democracy (the liberal democracy), and
transformed those peoples in leaders of the people of HK, and glued
circumstantial slogans in a formal political program_ the direct elections for
the govern of Hong Kong, first of all…and silenced the claims of the new poor
peoples: workers’ salaries, students subventions, families housing, small business
and enterprises…that came from the colonial regime of HK.
We arrive to the
absurdity of politicians, governments and the media in the West, justify the
refusal of legislative reform against international crime, ignoring that the
killer, because he is a citizen of HK and committed the crime in Taiwan, in the
light of current legislation, only could be arrested and sentenced to jail a
few months: not for murder, only by use
in HK the credit cards subtracted from the victim! As CNN correspondent
testifies, Chinese authorities were forced to release him in October.
The business community
was the first opposite against the extradition laws, obtaining the removal of
Lam's proposed amendments in the case of extradition for economic crimes,
so-called white-collar crimes.
And after street
demonstrations and violence, the
suspension of the bill indefinitely, a Lam government's tactical and political
decision to weaken the demagogy of extremists
and western media, which justifies impunity for the most heinous crimes
with the accusation that China's judicial system is neither independent nor
fair; in their view, Taiwan's also is
not, nor in the opinion of these Western politicians and academics, because
extradition in the case was from this region.
As would not be fairs
the systems of most countries in the world, if we accept the precedent
arguments, because the international cooperation and extradition agreements
that Hong Kong has subscribed do not exceed two dozen!
We must talk about demagogy and sectarianism,
because criticism of China's judicial system and the refusal of amendments is
still justified with a stronger and more fallacious argument: that the new
legal amendments would allow the PRC to persecute political dissidents around
the world.
Despite the constraints
of the HK Basic Law, its government, with the support of the PRC and its
national political institutions, has sought to integrate this Special
Autonomous Region in the field of international law. In the context of judicial
cooperation and the issue of the extradition of suspected of crimes, there is
an agreement with Portugal and some other countries, but not on regional and
global level.
We quote the agreement
made with Portugal, to understand the demagoguery and fallacy:
The Government of the
Portuguese Republic and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (HKSAR), having been duly authorized by the Central People's Government
of the People's Republic of China to conclude this Agreement, wishing to define
how the reciprocal delivery of infringers on the run, agreed on:
.../...
Article 6
Mandatory reasons for
refusal
1–An infringer on the
run shall not be delivered if the requested Party has reason to believe that:
(a) The infringement by
virtue of which the person is accused or found guilty is a political infraction
(b) the application for
delivery (although allegedly submitted because of a criminal offence by virtue
of which the surrender may be granted)
is, in fact, presented
in order to persecute or punish a person on the grounds of their race,
religion, nationality or political convictions; or
c) That the person may,
if surrendered, be harmed in the trial or punished, detained or suffered a
private restriction of his or her freedom for reasons which are committed to
race, religion, nationality or political convictions.
Article 2 clearly
define the crimes against physical integrity and property
We must stress that
this agreement was signed by HK on behalf of the People's Republic of China and
its government, which authorized it.
As a rule, there is no
scrutiny of sources or contradictory in West information linked to HK, so news
coverage results, too much times, as anti-China propaganda.
The numbers of protest
demonstrators are inflated up to the million or even 2 million. but have never
been confirmed by any suitable international entity, internal or external to
HK.
Hong Kong police
counted 240.000 people in the largest demonstration. (CNN correspondent
register the two opposite numbers in the text, but the headlines of notice give
the million number, and communication experts Know that 80% of the people read
only the tittles!)
This does not mean that
the HK government devalues the seriousness of the situation, it is the chief
executive himself who claims it, in his latest speech after the demonstrations,
announcing consequently a new program of democratic reforms:
Hong Kong is now
facing the most formidable challenge since its return to the motherland on July
1, 1997. More than 400 demonstrations, processions and rallies have taken place
in various districts in the past four months, and they frequently ended in
violence. More than 1.100 people have been injured and 2.200 arrested, Lam
said.
The media, in the west,
don´t notice the popular demonstrations that have seconded the government, and the political
positions of the government of HK or
from the parties and business entities and others, which supported it (exceptionally, the New York Times, did so).
For example: Nearly half a million people gathered at Tamar Park in Hong Kong
calling for end to the violence and extremism that has overshadowed the city
since mid-June. 2019-08-19
Carrie Lam's
government, despite the progress made in several areas, such as the
unemployment rate, which is reduced to 2.9%, sub estimate the problems and
complaints of the people, especially young people.
It did not advance
sufficiently in the democratization of Hong Kong's economy. It displayed the
general numbers and did not take due account of the antisocial nature of HK
capitalism.
But his stance of
self-criticism and the containment of violence deserves applause, as the democratic reform program does, she
announced:
"Hong Kong
residents, including those who have made mistakes, are not our enemies."
This is the official position of the HK government and also of the Government
of the PRC.
Carrie Lam announced a
program of democratic reforms, unprecedented in the last 20 years:
The Hong Kong
government announced extra budget measures valued at HK$19.1 billion (US$2.4
billion), including relief for small businesses, more student subsidies and
benefits for low-income households.
Land supply for
public housing:
"About 700
hectares of private land will be resumed, of which some 400 hectares is
expected to be resumed in the next five years _ significantly more than the 20
hectares resumed in the past five years," she said.
Raise the minimum
wage:
Lam proposed raising
all payment rates of the working family allowance.
"There will be
a 16.7 percent to 25 percent increase in the working-hour-linked household
allowance under the program, while the child allowance will be raised
substantially by 40 percent," she said.
And create more
well-paying jobs to improve social mobility for young people.
Integrate itself
into the national innovation system and explore the innovation-driven
development models cooperated with other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
Other government
adviser suggest increasing taxes on millionaires and property transactions and
that the government can also consider raising taxes on those making HK$2
million a year or more and increasing taxes on property transactions valued at
HK$10 million or more.
These measures removed
from the streets the large masses of discontent and left the extremists
isolated. Thy chose to experience intense violent activity, with fires and
destruction of establishments, public services, communication axes and even the
University, attacking the police with lethal weapons, bleeding and burning
other Chinese citizens, harassing and intimidating students from other
countries, emerging in trained groups and equipped for urban guerrilla.
Continuing to drag same young and very young people to violent clashes.
If the protest
demonstration in 2014 were a decisive
battle between the government and opposition forces in Hong Kong, the riots in
2019 have an international strategic dimension, confronting
the Chinese Socialism Strategy for a New Age and anti-China forces,
associated with the U.S. National Security Strategy and the U.S. National
Defense Strategy, on which the battlefield is Hong Kong.
The National Security Strategy, ESN [National
Security Strategy (NSS)] of the Trump government states that "China and
Russia defy the power, influence, and interests of the U.S., trying to erode U.S.
security and prosperity."
The Trump government's National Defense
Strategy, EDN [National Defense Strategy (EDN)] states that China "seeks
regional hegemony in the Indo-Pacific in the short term,
It is no longer about the propaganda defense of
the values of the West or the free world, slogans of the Cold War, but of
American hegemonic interests, in the direct language of the Pentagon, which in
the two Chambers of U.S. power are covered with the diaphanous mantle of
democracy and human rights.
In contrast to the
fundamental line of the Chinese strategy, which, by the voice of Xi Jinping,
states:
“Only with the progress
of developing countries and the least developed countries in the world, can
China grow. Only with the prosperity of developing countries, can China be more
prosperous”. (19th CPC Congress)
Although HK's internal
conflict is mainly due to the paradox of a socialist country having committed
itself to maintaining a part of its territory for 50 years under an extreme and
antisocial capitalist economic regime, Taiwan's influence is equally evident.
Media reports that dozens of Hong Kong violent protesters fly to Taiwan and are
protect by Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, that wants to discredit the
principle of one country, two systems.
The U.S. government
seeks to denigrate the image of the People's Republic of China in the world and
thus block the development of Chinese proposals for a new Era of International
Relations based on a fairer trading system, peaceful cooperation and the right of
each nation to choose its own path to progress, democracy and socialism, as are
the BRICS projects, the political reconfiguration of ASEAN, the New Silk Road
for Peace and more recently the South-South Cooperation, expanded in Africa and
into the American. Continent, that Monroe doctrine consider private domain of US.
And US government wants
to difficult or even block china's peaceful unification, once again fostering
Taiwan's tendencies of secession, to which UN resolutions put the end.
We also recall, with
apprehension, that the theorists of World War III, now seated in Trump's
administration, place the South China Sea as one of the epicenters of this
threatening conflict.
The danger of evolving
from the current economic and political disputes to a military probe was also
signaled at the recent conference of old Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in
Beijing. (22.11.2019)
The last act of U.S.
interference in the sovereignty of the PRC, after several student leaders (who commonly have their passage through
Western universities) were received as
if they were the representatives of the people of Hong Kong, was the approval of a Hong Kong Law adopted by the House of Representatives by
417 votes against one, the day after the Senate
unanimously vote, without any distinction between peaceful movements and
violent and xenophobic actions against individuals and property. Those laws
threaten to withdraw HK's special status in trade with the U.S. and exercise
retaliations over its authorities.
This almost unanimity
demonstrates that the policies of the two parties that monopolize the
government of the great American nation are not true opposite, when the
denominate American interests or opposition to socialism are in the political
equation.
Development
The first question under discussion is about Hong
Kong's modern history, from being transformed into an English colony until its
return to the sovereignty of the People's Republic of China. An overview of
this story, to contextualize the debate in the framework of the evolution of
the world and modern China.
Origin and Historical
Evolution
The British East India Company established a
factory in the nearby town of Guangzhou.
I
The England of the XIX century, the leader of
the second Industrial Revolution, in the demand for more raw materials at low
prices and consumer markets for their industrialized products, occupied India
but, in China, only managed to force the opening of the port of Guangzhou.
The economy of this country was not only
self-sufficient, but it exported to the West tea, silk and porcelain, which
ensured a high surplus in trade, so that its GDP exceeded 8 times that of the
English power.
This imperial power, and then with all the
other powers of the time, resorted, first, to the illegal export of opium to
the Chinese market, which became a national calamity, and then, through two
wars led by its Navy, forced the opening to drug trade of the ports of Fuzhou,
Xiamen, Ningbo and Shanghai. In addition, he occupied Hong Kong and, later,
other 50 ports, taking possession of the secrets of tea production, and send
them to other colonies, for competing with China offer. During the Opium War
(1839-1842), Hong Kong was occupied by the United Kingdom and in 1898 imposed
its delivery to China by 99 years_ one of the "hateful treaties" that
benefited western powers. The Chinese economy fell into ruin and all social
classes suffered severely, initiating political movements that knocked down the
imperial system and founded the Democratic Republic in 1912
A period of internal civil war followed against
military warlords and large owners in North and Northeast China and other
remote regions, such as Tibet, which survived the fall of its emperor, the
period calling the Revolution Democratic, led by the Kuomintang party, which in
its democratic and nationalist phase congregate communists and other democratic
tendencies (until 1927).
After 1912 Chinese nationalism was hostile to
occupying powers. Between 1925 and 1927 the nationalist government banned
English ships from accessing ports in Southern China.
When Japan, one of the foreign powers installed in
colonial concessions, occupies the Manchuria region, China was in the midst of
civil war, now confronting communists and democratic forces with the new
Kuomintang, anti-communist but also anti-liberal, which had joined many of the
warlords and made the People's Liberation Army, his Agrarian Reform and New
Democracy program for China, the main enemy.
II
The political framework of World War II
The Japanese occupation of the provinces of East
China, on the border with the Soviet Union, rich in raw materials indispensable
to the strategy of expansion and preparation of the war by Japan, opening the
period of the World War II, first in 1931, with the founding of the Puppet
Republic of Manchuria and then in 1935, advancing to south along the railways
and the coast. to conquer all of China.
The policy of neutrality of the other occupying
powers, was equivalent to that with which they sought a compromise with Nazi
Germany, in the expectation of the confrontation with the USSR.
During World War II, the Japanese occupation took
3 years and 8 months. With the unconditional surrender of Japan (1945), the
British reoccupied the territory and resumed their strategic function as a
major shopping center for Asia.
III
During the Korean war in 1950/1953, the United
States boycotted trade with China affecting the colony's commercial activity.
Hong Kong citizens are Chinese
The British government then began a strong
textile-based industrialization, using cheap and without any respect to
worker's rights. recruited in China, from where millions of workers emigrated,
especially from neighboring Canton Province (Guangdong).
Hong Kong has become the world's largest
commodity port and a very important, deregulated and low-tax financial center,
one of the first tax havens that anticipated current globalization.
British colonial politics, from its Labour or
Conservative governments, has developed an extreme model of economic
liberalism, along the 1960s and 1970s,
from where a fabulous new private real estate business emerged, which
went through the 1960s and 1970s, and from where a fabulous new private real
estate business emerged, becoming speculative, concentrated soil ownership and
created a chronic problem of access to housing, for working families and
middle.
In Hong Kong, the first democratic rights were
conquered in the 1960s and 1970s. by the Chinese population, after massive
strikes and violent riots, which forced colonial authorities to pass labor
legislation, create some social housing and invest more in public works.
But the people of Hong Kong, made up of about 95%
of Chinese from the continent, especially from Guangdong (Canton) and
representing China's diverse nationalities, continued to see no political
rights recognized or most of the social rights enjoyed by British citizens.
The fallacy of the identity of the people of
Hong Kong in conflict with their Chinese nationality is unfounded in the
history of the region and have not a
credible scientific basis. It is a creation of propaganda against the
reunification of the Chinese People’s Republic _CPR.
After returning to China, the territory received
another one million and two hundred thousand compatriots, surpassing 7 million
residents, as opened at the arrival of other Asian migrants, which today will
be about 5%.
The Legislative Council_ Legco, only at the end
of the colonial regime incorporated some Chinese peoples and rehearsed the
first elections of some of its members. Only at the end of the colonial regime
(in 1997), England, in an act
inconsequent and therefore of true political cynicism, extended the electoral
college to 1/3 of the citizens and created a double passport and nationality
for its elite support, 200.000 residents, seeking to leave behind a fifth
column. (The main criterion for the assignment of the passport was the place
that occupied in the social hierarchy)
The second question under discussion goes in the
same direction, to understand the closest historical context, focusing on the
special economic and political regime
known as "one country, two systems" which Hong Kong's reintegration into China was made. What does this new
political concept mean, how it came about and what it represented in the
economic, political and social terms, for the people of Hong Kong?
The territory, composited by 1 104 km² of area
(1 054 km² of land and 50 km² of water) consists mainly of Hong Kong Island,
Lantau, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, as well as about 260 other
islands
The new postcolonial Chinese government legally
protected 60% of this land, with the status of parks and nature reserves
25% were already urbanized.
The rest, stay in possession of a small number
of private homeowners and real estate speculators, who enriched it with a new
"China deal."
The political and
economic regime ,one country, two systems
Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, under the
principle of "one country, two systems", which means Hong Kong is
part of China and enjoys a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and
defense affairs, as stipulated by Hong Kong's Basic Law.
The implemented political system corresponds to
the matrix of the People's Republic, but its economic base and legal system
remained untouched in essence; a model of extreme liberal capitalism.
The People's Republic of China is a new-type
democracy born in china's modern history, by the struggle, sacrifice and hard
work of its people, with 56 nationalities: neither state capitalism nor a
semi-democratic hybrid system, as journalists, politicians and academics
looking write ,
with the sectarian and ethnocentric view of single thought, which
preaches the end of history and the advent of a single form of democracy, the liberal democracy, invoking in its
support for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that says exactly the
opposite: that each nation must choose its own path to progress and configure
its democratic state. (Article, 21º, UDHR).
A “…socialist democracy: the system of people´s
congresses, the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation,
the system of regional ethnic autonomy, and the system of self-governance at
the primary level of society…” (The Chinese Constitution)
How Hong
Kong’s Legislative
Council evolution
From a Legislative Council
under the dominance of a colonial governor to a real Legislative Council.
The colonial times. From
its establishment in 1843… to the first partial elections, on October 30, 1985,
24 members of Legco were returned by indirect elections. Twelve were returned
by 12 electoral college constituencies – comprising members of District Boards,
Urban Council and the Provisional Regional Council. The other 12 were returned
by functional constituencies made up of various professions.
Chinese language was used
for the first time in Legco, with simultaneous interpretation, on October 18,
1972.
1991 marked the first time
in the city’s history Legco members were returned by direct elections. Eighteen
members were elected by the public in nine geographical constituencies. The
first female legislator be directly elected.
Legco and last in the colonial era. In 1995,
among the 60 members, 30 were from functional constituencies, 20 were returned
by direct elections in geographical constituencies, and 10 were elected by the
election committee constituency.
The last governor declared
2.7 million voters (from a population of a 6,6 million of Chinese peoples),
that never could exercise their vote to cast a ballot in 150 years of colonial
dependency. A generous offer in the end of the mandate, to a minority of HK
Chinese people, that spend nothing concerning effective political rights to the
people. The governor, he’s gone!
People’s Republic of China
set up a Provisional Legislative Council.
Sixty members were elected by a 400 member selection committee on
December 21, 1996. Hong Kong’s first chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, was
elected on the same day.
The first meeting of the
Provisional Legislative Council convened on January 25, 1997, to elect its
first president, Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai. She was also the first woman to hold the
office.
The Provisional Legislative
Council operated from July 1, 1997 to July 2, 1998. Elections for the first
post-colonial Legco were held on May 24, 1998.
The size of the number of
geographical constituency legislators increased in subsequent Legco sessions:
from 20 in 1998, to 24 in 2000, to 30 in 2004.
An electoral reform package
was passed on June 25, 2010, increasing the size of the legislature to 70
members by adding five geographical constituencies and five functional
constituencies.
The five functional
constituency are elected by district councilors and eligible to run by being
elected by district council members.
The winners were then to be
elected by Hong Kong’s entire voter base.
The seats are called “super seats” as candidates stand for election before
many voters and hence command a more significant mandate than other Legco
member.
Enlarging democracy, a
mixed system of direct participation and representation
Uninterrupted expansion of electoral democracy,
based on universal suffrage and representative democracy, based on the direct
election of representatives from all HK social sectors and multi-party
consultation and cooperation.
Hong Kong's leader, the chief executive, is
currently elected by a 1.200 member election committee.
Amendment to Annex I to the Basic Law of the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China
Concerning the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region (Approved at the Sixteenth Session of the
Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on 28 August
2010), state:
1. The Election Committee to elect the fourth
term Chief Executive in 2012 shall be composed of 1200 members from the
following sectors:
Industrial, commercial and financial sectors
300
The professions 300
Labour, social services, religious and other
sectors 300
Members of the Legislative Council,
representatives of members of the District Councils, representatives of the
Heung Yee Kuk ('Rural Assembly' is a statutory advisory body representing the
indigenous or rural inhabitants of Hong's New Territories),Hong Kong deputies
to the National People’s Congress, and representatives of Hong Kong members of
the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference 300
The term of office of the Election Committee
shall be five years.
2. Candidates for the office of Chief Executive
may be nominated jointly by not less than 150 members of the Election
Committee. Each member may nominate only one candidate.
With the Electoral Reform implemented at the
SARHK in 2010, the Legislative Council was composed of 70 members, 35 elected
by direct suffrage and 35 elected by indirect suffrage.
On another hand, all citizens (individuals)
voters of Hong Kong also have the right to vote in direct elections for the
"District Assemblies", electing 452 members.
With the support of only 10 voters, any HK
citizen can run for district deputy.
In 2016, in compliance with the precept of
progressively increasing the democratic representation prescribed in the HK
Fundamental Law, the Legislative Assembly with 70 members, 35 elected by direct
suffrage and 35 elected by indirect suffrage, represent all the social sectors
of Hong Kong,
This reality contradicts the false thesis widely
disseminated in the media to the West, that after the 2014 incidents, the HK
government restricted democracy in electoral processes and its parliamentary
representation.
These 35 elected by all community sectors, from
the University to Business and Trade Federations, are a new model of
participatory/representative democracy, which allows these different social
sectors to choose, to control and to evaluate its deputies during the mandate,
or even replace them in the case of serious infringement of their political
duties. This means that parties do not have the exclusivity of representation,
as they complain in the West the new democratic movements! (What a paradox!)
A model certainly more democratic than that we
currently have in Portugal (and in European Union), in which members are chosen
by the head of their party and negotiated only with their barons. We,
Portuguese citizens militants or without party, do not vote for members
committed to defending our direct interests and have no control over their
activity. And, we, European citizens, when vote for our on-deputy circle, have
no right to choose the man or the woman, and let in the party the decisive
authority for balance their mandate.
But if we are American citizens, and don´t make
part of the 100 million of US citizens excludes from all elections, we ca
legally buy our place in a political carrier, given the correspondent donative
to the respective party ballot or reserve a place, with a millionaire
gift, in the top of the administration,
up to the presidential staff.
The Basic Law of HK states that the ultimate
aims are the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon
nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with
democratic procedures, and the election of all the members of the Legislative
Council by universal suffrage_ the “dual universal suffrage”.
The
political-electoral map of Hong Kong
Since the 2016 elections in HK, the
constitutional field (identified with the Constitution of the PRC and the Basic
Law of RASKH) is usually represented by about 40 elected members, half of which
have been elected by direct suffrage. They are parties very different from the
mainland democratic parties and, obviously, from the Communist Party, as
the DAB. The Centre-Left or the
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong _ BPA, the Centre-right.
The field of other tendency of local democratic
parties, committed to the transition Basic Law and the unity of China, is
usually composed around 20 members (the majority elected by direct suffrage),
however, as the Democratic Party (1994),
calling for amendment in Constitution and in the Basic Law and the
anti-constitutional field by 6 members (all elected by direct suffrage). None
of these 6 members represents the so-called pro-democracy movement, invented by
western media, government opponents are characterized by different political positions_ at the
limit, defending HK autonomy, having in common to reduce its proposals to the
slogan of direct election of the president of the government and the absence of
a program in the area of the economy, what meaning, in the field of politic,
that they defend the status quo.
But this scheme is only a simplified way for
approaching the diverse and complex reality of parties and political groups of
HK. In the pos colonial era we can
identify many political acronyms having in common the word democracy,
representing parties and alliances, with representation in the Legislative
Council and District Councils, where a great number of independents win the
sets.
Evolution of
Hong Kong's electoral map reveals the growing loss of electoral weight of
political forces that have historically been the support and opposition of the
government, well proved by the electoral evolution of the two largest parties,
the DAB and the Democratic Party (oppositionist) in the main elections, for the
Legislative Council: The DAB went from 25% of the vote in 1998 to 16% in 2016
and the Democratic Party (opposition) from 42% to 9% in the same period.
And, consequently, the
proliferation of ever-changing political parties and forces.
In the November 24
poll to the District Councils, western press connects with the opposition
around 50 political acronyms, including parties and other associations,
traditional parties and new political association - and dozens more were
presented as supporting the government. And 1 million votes were registered on
independent candidates, whose majority, without demonstration, the same press
associates with the opposition.
National Peoples’
Conference_ NPC and SARHK political representation
Hong Kong is represented in the national
institutions of the People's Republic of China, the People's Congress and the
Chinese People's Consultative Policy Conference, with a weight of electoral
representation proportionally much higher than its number of citizens.
The PRC has a population of 1.360 million, to
HK's 7.8 million Chinese.
2980 Members of National Peoples ‘Conference_
NPC; 175 Members of NPCSC (The
Standing Committee).
Hong Kong’s contingent to the country’s
legislature, the National People’s Congress: Some 49 candidates ran in the small-circle
election to be among the chosen 36 delegates who represent the city in the
legislature.
Electoral method
Article 21 of the Hong Kong Basic Law
stipulates:
Chinese citizens who are residents of the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region shall be entitled to participate in the
management of state affairs according to law. In accordance with the assigned
number of seats and the selection method specified by the National People's
Congress, the Chinese citizens among the residents of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region shall locally elect deputies of the Region to the
National People's Congress to participate in the work of the highest organ of
state power.
A 1.989 strong electoral college composed of
the following:
Members of the previous electoral college that
had elected the Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress;
Hong Kong delegates of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Committee (CPPCC);
Members of the Election Committee (which elects
the Chief Executive) who are Chinese nationals, except those who opt out; and
The Chief Executive of the SARHK.
Result by party
DAB (5) _ Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB)
FTU (2) NCF (1) Roundtable (1)
The Chinese
People’s Political Consultative Conference and SARHK political representation
“The Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference, a broadly based representative organization of the united front
which has played a significant historical role, will play a still more
important role in the country’s political and social life, in promoting
friendship with other countries and in the struggle for socialist modernization
and for the reunification and unity of the country. The system of the
multi-party cooperation and political consultation led by the Communist Party
of China will exist and develop for a long time to come.” Preamble of the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China
From 2.200 (2016) national deputies
specially...
Invited Hong Kong Dignitaries (124)
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and
Progress of Hong Kong (25)
Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong
Kong (4)
Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (2)
Liberal Party (Hong Kong) (4)
New Century Forum (1)
New Territories Association of Societies (2)
The third question under discussion: Twenty-two
years past, a major internal conflict arises in Hong Kong, which reaches its
peak with protests against the so-called criminal extradition law. What is the
nature of this law and in what facts and circumstances it arises at the center
of controversy?
A single spark can
start a prairie fire: for the good and for the evil
The contested laws
and international crime
In February, the government proposed changing
the two extradition laws _ the Fugitive Offenders and the Mutual Legal
Assistance in Criminal Matters ordinances _in the context the case of odious
murder of a young woman, 5 months pregnant,
murdered and robbed by her boyfriend in Taiwan, forward reported by the
CNN journalist . The political process that followed was a missed opportunity
to take a step further in favor of combating organized and violent,
international crime.
The follow text is quoted from Hong Kong (CNN)
By James Griffiths,
Murder suspect whose alleged crime sparked Hong
Kong protests walks free
Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT) October 23, 2019
…/…
“But as the global consequences of almost four
months of unprecedented unrest continue to be felt, the story that started it
all has slipped from the headlines. On Wednesday, one of the central players in
that story walked free from a Hong Kong prison on minor charges, after
authorities say he confessed to killing his girlfriend but, so far, avoided
prosecution for it.
Chan Tong-kai was sentenced to prison by a
judge in April 2019. Just over one year earlier, authorities say the then
19-year-old admitted to killing his girlfriend, 20-year-old Poon Hiu-wing,
while the pair were in Taiwan. Poon would have been about 15 weeks pregnant at
the time.
Though Chan was arrested in March 2018 and soon
confessed to the killing, according to police, that wasn't why he was before a
judge in April. Because Hong Kong and Taiwan have no extradition agreement, and
do not usually provide cross-border legal assistance -- and because they
couldn't prove the alleged murder was planned in Hong Kong beforehand --
prosecutors in the city were unable to charge Chan with murder. Instead, he was
charged with the more minor offense of money laundering, in relation to cash
and other valuables he stole from Poon after allegedly killing her.
…/…
In February 2019, the government proposed to
amend the city's two extradition laws _ the Fugitive
Offenders and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters ordinances _ in a
bid to enable Hong Kong to surrender fugitive offenders on a case-by-case basis
to other jurisdictions that have no formal long-term agreements with the SAR.
The fourth question is articulated in the answer
to the third, and it is about protest movements. Can we talk about an
opposition, or are there different forces in presence? Is there really an
organized movement, as the Western press says, pro-democracy? Does this
movement or movements present an economic and political program? A common or diverse program?
Demagogy and fallacy,
against social ethics, citizen moral and international right
Demonstrations in Hong Kong against two
extradition laws have evolved from protesters marching through the streets to
groups of radicals in hard hats storming the Legislative Council complex and
shutting down the city's international airport for two days.
The business community first obtained the
removal of Lam's proposed amendments in the case of extradition for economic
crimes, so-called white-collar crimes.
And after the mobilization of hundreds of
thousands of protests, covered by and international campaigns in the media and
the political support of West politician, mainly from US and England, radical
groups profited to install street violence.
The suspension of the bill indefinitely, seems
to be a Lam government's tactical and political decision to weaken the demagogy
of extremists and western media, which justifies impunity for the most heinous
crimes with the accusation that China's judicial system is neither independent
nor fair; in their view, Taiwan's also
is not, because extradition, in the case, was from this region.
As would not be fairs the systems of most
countries in the world, if we accept the precedent arguments, because the
international cooperation and extradition agreements that Hong Kong has
subscribed do not exceed two dozen!
We arrive to the absurdity of politicians,
governments and the media in the West, justify the refusal of legislative
reform against international crime, ignoring that the killer, because he is a
citizen of HK and committed the crime in Taiwan, in the light of current
legislation, only could be arrested and sentenced to jail a few months: not for
murder, only by use in KH the credit
cards subtracted from the victim. As CNN correspondent testifies, Chinese authorities
were forced to release him in October.
We must talk about demagogy and sectarianism,
because criticism of China's judicial system and the refusal of amendments is
still justified with a stronger and more fallacious argument: that the new
legal amendments would allow the PRC to persecute political dissidents around
the world.
The HK government is committed, through the
Basic Law of governing the transition agreement (which will last 50 years), to
maintaining the capitalist system and the legal apparatus created by the
colonial system.
Despite the constraints of the HK Basic Law,
its government, with the support of the PRC and its national political
institutions, has sought to integrate this Special Autonomous Region in the
field of international law. In the context of judicial cooperation and the
particular issue of the extradition of suspected of crimes, there is an
agreement with Portugal and some other countries, but not on regional and
global level.
We quote the agreement made with Portugal, to
understand the demagoguery and fallacy:
Hong Kong's legal and
political paradox
The Government of the Portuguese Republic and
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SARHK), having
been duly authorized by the Central People's Government of the People's
Republic of China to conclude this Agreement, wishing to define how the
reciprocal delivery of infringers on the run, agreed on:
.../...
Article 6
Mandatory reasons for refusal
1–An infringer on the run shall not be
delivered if the requested Party has reason to believe that:
(a) The infringement by virtue of which the
person is accused or found guilty is a political infraction
(b) the application for delivery (although
allegedly submitted because of a criminal offence by virtue of which the
surrender may be granted)
is, in fact, presented in order to persecute or
punish a person on the grounds of their race, religion, nationality or
political convictions; or
c) That the person may, if surrendered, be
harmed in the trial or punished, detained or suffered a private restriction of
his or her freedom for reasons which are committed to race, religion,
nationality or political convictions.
Article 2 clearly define the crimes against
physical integrity and property
I would stress that this agreement was signed
by HK on behalf of the People's Republic of China and its government, which
authorized it.
Internal causes and
foreign interference
If the protest demonstration in 2014 were a decisive battle between the
government and opposition forces in Hong Kong, the riots in 2019 have an
international strategic dimension,
confronting the Chinese Socialism
strategy for a New Age and anti-China forces, associated with the U.S. Strategy
of The United States And the U.S. National Defense Strategy, on which the
battlefield is Hong Kong.
The National Security Strategy, ESN [National
Security Strategy (NSS)] of the Trump government states that "China and
Russia defy the power, influence, and interests of the U.S., trying to erode
U.S. security and prosperity."
The Trump government's National Defense
Strategy, EDN [National Defense Strategy (EDN)] states that China "seeks
regional hegemony in the Indo-Pacific in the short term,
It is no longer about the propaganda defense of
the values of the West or the free world, slogans of the cold war, but of
American hegemonic interests, in the direct language of the Pentagon, which in
the two Chambers of U.S. power are covered with the diaphanous mantle of
democracy and human rights.
In contrast to the fundamental line of the
Chinese strategy, which, by the voice of Xi Jinping, states:
“Only with the progress of developing countries
and the least developed countries in the world, can China grow. Only with the
prosperity of developing countries, can China be more prosperous”. (19th CPC
Congress)
Although HK's internal conflict is mainly due
to the paradox of a socialist country having committed itself to maintaining a
part of its territory for 50 years under an extreme and antisocial capitalist
economic regime, Taiwan's influence is equally evident. Media reports that
dozens of Hong Kong violent protesters fly to Taiwan and are protect by
Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan, that wants to discredit the principle
of one country, two systems.
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs
Office of the State Council of PRC, warned the Democratic Progressive Party of
Taiwan to stop harboring violent Hong Kong activists fleeing arrest.
"They also openly claimed to shelter
criminals and make Taiwan a 'safe haven' for lawbreakers”, denouncing the double
intention of that island's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, and other authorities that
have recently said that "humanitarian assistance" should be given to
some Hong Kong residents. The case is that Cho Jung-tai, the DPP chairman,
slander the principle of "one country, two systems", "He was
trying to stir up trouble in Hong Kong. He also wanted to smear the mainland
and the principle of 'one country, two systems' so as to gain votes for the
coming election. Such attempts are doomed to fail," Ma added
The U.S. government seeks to degrade the image
of the People's Republic of China in the world and thus block the development
of Chinese proposals for a new Era of International Relations based on a fairer
trading system, peaceful cooperation and the right of each nation to choose its
own path to progress, democracy and socialism, as are the BRICS projects, the
political reconfiguration of ASEAN, the New Silk Road for Peace and more
recently of South-South Cooperation, expanded in Africa and into the American.
Continent, that Monroe doctrine consider private domain of US..
And difficult or even block china's peaceful
unification, once again fostering Taiwan's tendencies of secession, to which UN
resolutions put the end.
We also recall, with apprehension, that the
theorists of World War III, now seated in trump's administration, place the
South China Sea as one of the epicenters of this threatening conflict.
The danger of evolving from the current
economic and political disputes to a military probe was also signaled at the
recent conference of old Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing.
(22.11.2019)
The last act of U.S. interference in the
sovereignty of the PRC, after several student leaders (who commonly have their passage through
Western universities) were received as
if they were representatives of the people of Hong Kong, was the approval of a Hong Kong Law adopted by the House of Representatives by
417 votes against one, the day after the Senate
unanimously vote , without any distinction between peaceful movements
and violent and xenophobic actions against individuals and property. Those laws
threaten to withdraw HK's special status in trade with the U.S. and exercise reprisals over its authorities.
This almost unanimity demonstrates that the policies of the two parties that
monopolize the government of the great American nation are not true opposite,
when the denominate American interests or opposition to socialism are in the
political equation.
The fifth question seeks to clarify the role of
the media in this crisis and better analyze the violent episodes that appear on
Western television or television and in the Chinese media. It is important to
analyze its content and communication methods.
The single thought
and the monopoly of information
As a rule, there is no scrutiny of sources or
contradictory in West information linked to HK, so news coverage result, too
much times, as anti-China propaganda.
The numbers of protest demonstrators are
inflated up to the million or even 2 million. but have never been confirmed by
any suitable international entity, internal or external to HK.
Hong Kong police counted 240.000 people in the
largest demonstration. (CC correspondent register the two opposite numbers in
the text, but the headlines of notice give the million number, and
communication experts now that 80% of the people read only the tittles!)
This does not mean that the HK government
devalues the seriousness of the situation, it is the chief executive himself
who claims it in his latest speech, announcing consequently a new program of
democratic reforms:
Hong Kong is now facing the most formidable
challenge since its return to the motherland on July 1, 1997. More than 400
demonstrations, processions and rallies have taken place in various districts
in the past four months, and they frequently ended in violence. More than 1.100
people have been injured and 2.200 arrested, Lam said.
The media, in the West, don´t notice the
popular demonstrations that have seconded
the government, and the political positions of the government of HK or from the parties
and business entities and others, which supported it (exceptionally, the New York Times, did so).
For example: Nearly half a million people gathered at Tamar Park in Hong Kong
calling for end to the violence and extremism that has overshadowed the city
since mid-June. China Daily Global | Updated: 2019-08-19 08:15
West media do not distinguish the people and
those radical groups, never censure their violent tactics and brutal acts, and,
after all, don’t listen popular revindication about public housing, the raising
of the minimum wage and the increasing all payment rates of the working family
allowance.
West media and the western political propaganda
transformed the declarations of some student activists in a program of a global
and united movement pro-democracy (the liberal democracy), and
transformed those peoples in leaders of the people of HK, and glued
circumstantial slogans in a formal political program_ the direct elections for
the govern of Hong Kong, first of all…and silenced the claims of the new poor
peoples: low salaries, students subventions, families housing, small business
and enterprises smashed by globalization…that came from the colonial regime and
the capitalist economy of HK cannot solve.
The sixth question refers to how the government of
the Special Region Administrative of Hong Kong has reacted to the crisis, as
well as the attitude of the central government and the measures it proposes to
overcome it.
HK government program to
overcome crisis
Carrie Lam's government, despite the progress
made in several areas, Hong Kong’s ecological environment in creative
technology has been continuously improved under the great support of the SAR
government and such as the unemployment
rate, which is reduced to 2.9%, sub
estimate the problems and complaints of the people, especially young people.
It did not advance sufficiently in the
democratization of Hong Kong's economy. It displayed the general numbers and
did not take due account of the antisocial nature of HK capitalism.
But his stance of self-criticism and the
containment of violence deserves applause, as does the democratic reform
program, she announced:
"Hong Kong residents, including those who
have made mistakes, are not our enemies." This is the official position of
the HK government and also the government of the PRC.
The Hong Kong government has announced a
program of democratic reforms, unprecedented in the last 20 years:
The Hong Kong government has announced extra
budget measures valued at HK$19.1 billion ($2.4 billion), including relief for
small businesses, more student subsidies and benefits for low-income
households.
Land supply for public housing,
"About 700 hectares of private land will
be resumed, of which some 400 hectares is expected to be resumed in the next
five years _ significantly more than the 20 hectares resumed in the past five
years," she said.
raise the minimum wage
Lam proposed raising all payment rates of the
working family allowance.
"There will be a 16.7 percent to 25
percent increase in the working-hour-linked household allowance under the
program, while the child allowance will be raised substantially by 40
percent," she said.
And create more well-paying jobs to improve
social mobility for young people.
Integrate itself into the national innovation
system and explore the innovation-driven development models cooperated with
other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
Other government adviser suggest increasing
taxes on millionaires and property transactions and that the government can
also consider raising taxes on those making HK$2 million a year or more and
increasing taxes on property transactions valued at HK$10 million or more.
These measures removed from the streets the
large masses of discontent and left the extremists isolated. They chose to
endure intense violent activity, with fires and destruction of establishments,
public services, communication axes and even the University, attacking the
police with lethal weapons, bleeding and burning other Chinese citizens, harassing
and intimidating students from other countries, emerging in trained groups and
equipped for urban guerrilla. Continuing to drag same groups of young and very
young people to violent clashes.
The elections of November 24 and
the meaning of its results
The president of the government of the Hong
Kong Special Autonomous Region said in her first public statement that she
accepts the results of the elections to the District Assemblies, which were
clearly unfavorable to her, and she hope that the people of Hong Kong can
continue to express their views in a peaceful manner.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
government guaranteed to listen to the public humbly and seriously, and
postulate that there are various analyses and interpretations showing that the
result reflected people’s dissatisfaction with the current situation and the
deep-seated problems in society, she added. “The HKSAR government will listen
to the opinions of members of the public humbly, and seriously reflect (on its
performance),” conclude Lam.
The first note is that if the government loses
elections so largely, it is because, after all, in Hong Kong there are free and
democratic elections, contrary to what has been intensely stated in the West.
The BBC and the Western press soon talk of a
wide victory for the "pro-democracy" movement, as if these candidates
represented an organized and united political front with a program and a common
structure. But they are not, and common political and organic platform does not
exist and never happened. The opposite political forces exist since the end of
the colonial regime and is characterized by political diversity and organic
dispersion. Peaceful demonstrators and civic participation in elections, they
are a continuous heritage from the political history of the regime “one
country, two systems”, but not belong to the same political field of sectarian
violence against people, establishments, foreign students or police.
Candidates for the seats of District Council
elections, were able to participate in the polls on the basis of a one-name
list signed by only 10 HK citizens, a legal provision granting a democratic,
participatory and plural dimension to these elections and to these elected
officials, which has nothing to be compared with the schematic and biased view
of a homogeneous political movement. The candidates to the 452 sets, in number
that is very superior, in double or a triple, don’t present a program, and
could do that, the official register keeps a section for that propose that keeps
void, only the personal identification,
and, if represent a party or another social identity, their filiation. Those
parties and other political forces that support the govern or are opposition do
not present candidates in most of the Constituencies. (In attach, the reader of
this document can consult the lists of all candidates and final ballot).
Analyzing the last pool emphasizing that
pro-democracy movement win the streets and after poll 17 of 18 districts or
saying that political forces that support government only have a reduced
percent of the 452 seats, is an intentional deflection to induce in error the
public opinion.
The defeated candidates were not only those
representing the oldest and diverse democratic parties and social forces
supporters of HKSAR government_ such as the Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong _ DAB (1992_ involving middle classes and
other works), Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong _ BPA (2012_
linked to the business world) and the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions _
FTU (1948_ representing trade unions), but also other independent citizens and
old opposite parties, who together show us that the consignment of philosophy
China's classic politics, taken up by Mao, remains alive in the People's
Republic of China and is favored by its electoral laws: “Let a hundred flowers
bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend".
Now we can measure the dimension of the defeat
of government without associate them to the victory of an inexistent electoral
platform or united front of opposition. From an electoral framework compared
between the two elections 2015/2019, with an electoral turnout of 47% of voters
against the current 71% (2.9 million out of a total of 4.1 million), DAB went
from 118 to 21, BPA fall from 19 to 3 and the FTU from 30 to 7. This framework
shows an overall drop from 169 to 31 among these parties and political forces that support Lam
govern and regularly present themselves to these elections, but at the same
time, that already in the last elections 2015 the majority of elected
candidates have not party affiliation or there are representants of traditional
so called democratic parties. As the Democratic Party, that recognizes the
Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the HKSAR,
but in their program call for its amendment “…in order to achieve democracy and
to safeguard liberty, human rights and the rule of law.”
The winner’s: pluralism, diversity
and independents
Lam's government lost popular support on a
large scale, but no serious political analyst can glue those independents to
the leaders that the press pro "liberal democracy" promote as representants of HK peoples’, manipulating
for this propose a dozen examples of traditional candidates defeats that cannot
be extend to the cases of majority of now elected officials.
In common, these candidates and especially
these voters criticize the HK government policy, based on the same claims that
brought to the streets the first democratic movements of their Chinese citizens
in the 1960s and 1970s in the midst of colonial era: poverty wages of workers
and their families, the terrible housing shortages in a mega city subject to
private housing concentration and speculation, insufficient support for students
and promising jobs, small business
owners' difficulties in a business sea where they hunt without control the
great sharks.
We can better understand the evolution from the
past colonial period to the Hong Kong administration of “one country, two
systems”, from a standing testify of a senior research fellow at Pan Sutong
Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Institute at Lingnan University,
professor Ho Lok-sang:
“Hong Kong people have struggled through very
difficult times. During the 1950s and early 1960s, most Hong Kong people were
struggling to make ends meet. Many of us were living in subdivided flats in
very crowded conditions. Many lived in unsafe squatter camps that were not only
unhygienic but also very dangerous. Corruption was rampant, as were robberies.
There was no democracy to speak of. English was the only official language even
though very few Hong Kong people at the time could speak or understand English…
Hong Kong people did not enjoy free compulsory
primary education until 1971. It was in 1978 that Hong Kong started to have
nine years of free compulsory education and also the Home Ownership Scheme. It
was not until 1991 that Hong Kong had a third university. The old-age
allowance, when it was first introduced in 1973, was available only for those
aged 75 or above.
While the percentage of low-income earners,
defined as making HK$10,000 ($1,280) or less a month at 2018 prices, among
young people aged 21-25, had risen for the cohorts born after 1980, a recent
study by me and a scholar at the Education University found that for those born
in 1991-95, an unprecedentedly low 12 percent was poor. Even for those born in
1986-90, the percentage of low-income earners dropped from 36.3 percent to 5.3
percent by the time they reached 26-30!”…The fact is, under “one country, two
systems”, life is actually getting better in Hong Kong. Not only are we
economically better off than our forefathers, but we are having more democracy,
less corruption, fewer crimes, a higher rule-of-law rating, and even the top
life expectancy ranking in the world.” Ho Lok-sang, conclude.
The defeat parties and other political forces
are not the emanation of the government politics or from China mainland, they
are genuine creation of the diversity of political choices of the HK Chinese Peoples’ in different historical
contexts, agree and disagree frequently with the political orientation and
measures of Lam government (a story about that disagree of DBA leader opposition face to Lam decision of
retreat extradition laws, run in HK public opinion), defending in common the
Basic Law of HKRAS.
Once again, West press says nothing about their
origin, political program and social composition.
DAB. The Centre-Left for a
Virtuous Democracy
Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong _ DAB was founded in the end of colonial period,
1992, only with 56 members defining themselves as “ a cross-sectoral party” and
in 1997, when HK return to the motherland, establish a political program that
wanted to correspond to the main aspirations and needs of the common people and
all the social classes, believing that “…the common interest of all sectors of
the society is to implement One Country, Two Systems, Hong Kong people
Administering Hong Kong and a high degree of autonomy, to maintain Hong Kong’s
stability and prosperity while continuously improving our resident’s quality of
life.”
It was a program with concrete measures, that
reacts against to the dark side of the colonial heritage, but defends a
moderate way to reform the capitalism of HK:
DAB advocate:
Poverty Abolishment – Formulate an overall
strategy in “Removing Poverty;” set the “Poverty Line” at the mid-point of the
median family income; improve the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance
Scheme.
Affordable and Adequate Housing – Speed up
construction of public rental housing units and shorten the waiting time for
allocation; carry out reviews of the pricing principle of units provided under
the Home Ownership Scheme; expand the housing program for the “Sandwich Class;”
ensure newly built residential units are comprised of public rental housing,
HOS and privately-developed units in equal proportions; provide tax exemption
on mortgage interest payments for first-time home buyers
Adequate Care for the Elderly.
Retirement Security – Implement the “Double
Social Protection Plan”
Accessible, Affordable, Quality Health Care.
Improved Working Conditions – Provide all
employees of every trade and industry a safe working environment and adequate
employee benefits; improve legislation related to occupational safety; increase
the inspection of construction sites and other high-risk workplaces; promote
and increase public awareness of industrial safety; and promote equal
opportunities for employment.
Accessible Transport Service
Women’s and Children’s Rights – Establish the
“Consultative Committee of Women Affairs.
Investment in Programs for the Youth, Community
Recreation, Smart Environmental Protection
Investment in Our Education – Increase
education expenditure to 4% of the GDP in five years;
Support for SMEs – Demand the SAR Government to
actively support the development of small and medium size enterprises; aid in
various areas – from fund raising, information provision, and personnel
training to marketing.
Hong Kong is faced with various problems
including its exorbitant land prices, relatively high labor cost and its
neglect of industrial development. We must pay close attention to these
challenges and work hard in coming up with effective solutions to real
problems_ DAB program completes.
This program bring them electoral growing and
increasing the number of militants (45.000 in 2019), with a strong defeat in
2003, when be accused by “pro-democracy liberal” media of collaboration with
the new government laws of HK concerning the regulation of social communication and nation security, classified by them as “suspect” to be a
tentative to limit the free press.
DAB will be classified in the West as a
Centre-left party, defending the core principle of the free market and economic
open up, but criticizing Globalisation,
with which income disparity is magnified, local SMEs struggle to survive, the
middle and working classes lack the opportunities for upward mobility, and the
youth see no way forward to achieve their dreams. In face of these challenges, the government
must rely on the power of the market and be proactive in transforming the
economic structure, encouraging technological innovation, entrepreneurship or
pursuit of career advancement, and thus, resolve structural social problems_
said DAB in the program. If development does not benefit people generally, it
is not only meaningless, but also conductive to social conflicts. Development
of this kind is unsustainable. Therefore, the government should ensure that the
market is fair and equitable to all, eliminate monopolies and support small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the
process of development, the government should ensure that any adverse effect it
may entail on ordinary residents should be ameliorated by fair compensation_
added DAB program. That’s the DAB “Virtuous Democracy” program for HK.
At same time, face the central question of the
power system to elect the government of HKSAR, what now could be unexpected, is
that DAB advocate already in 1997 the
advent of Universal Suffrage:
“Review the development of Hong Kong’s constitutional structure before
2007 and strive to elect the subsequent Chief Executive by universal suffrage
as well as to return all seats in the Legislative Council by universal
suffrage”. Proclaimed DAB.
Implement “dual universal suffrage” before 2007
(!), what West media present as a new and central political revindication of
the recent protest movements!?
As we say before, is not. Unlike the propaganda
anti-China, direct elections of the Chief Executive are an objective of the
full integration of HK in the motherland, consigned in the Basic Law, that
states:
“…The ultimate aims are the selection of the
Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly
representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures,
and the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal
suffrage.”
After November 24 poll, Starry Lee Wai-king,
chairperson of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong
Kong — the city’s largest political party — said she understood residents’
discontent with the status quo. She vowed that the DAB will reflect on the
failure and better respond to the local communities, as well as continue to
improve people’s livelihoods.
Business and
Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong _ BPA, the Centre-right
BPA will be classified in the West as a
Centre-right party, representing since 2012 the business world. Defends the
primacy of private economy, the responsibility of the government to create a
competitive environment for business and to promote welfare and well-being of
middle-class and assistance for the disadvantaged.
BPA program advocate:
We follow the principles of a free market
economy. But we also believe that the
government should be more proactive in facilitating economic development by
maintaining a level playing field and a competitive environment in which
businesses could thrive and prosper.
We look forward to representing the
middle-class. The time is now right for our Government to take a comprehensive
review of how the middle class should and could be nurtured and encouraged in
its public policies such as healthcare, housing, education, etc.
Our society is now faced with a real danger of
social policies being overridden by populism.
BPA’s approach to social welfare policies is in line with the spirit of
promoting self-reliance.
We encourage assistance for the disadvantaged
to help them become self-reliant but oppose any acts which seek to win votes
but disregard the public interest.
Lo Wai-kwok, alliance chairman, said the
unsatisfying results were a warning about deficiencies in the government’s
performance.
Lo said he hopes the government can seriously
reflect (on its deficiencies) and ensure a fair and safe legislative election
next year. He also vows that the party will thoroughly review its own past
efforts.
“Black terror” and threats spread and imposed
by radicals during the months-long social unrest is one of reasons that the
party had a worrying situation in the election, Lo said, referring some
candidates, volunteers and supporters were threatened; some councilors’ offices
were vandalized before the election, with some having been torched with
gasoline bombs.
“We will stand firm against violence, safeguard
the community’s peace and safety, and make contributions to Hong Kong,” Lo
conclude.
Federation of Trade
Unions
The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions
(HKFTU) was founded in 1948. HKFTU
represents a total of 251 affiliated and associated unions, covering a wide
spectrum of sectors, including all means of transport (land, sea and air),
government organizations, public utilities, clericals and professionals,
tourism, catering and retailing industries, service industry, manufacturing,
shipbuilding and machinery manufacturing, and construction, etc. With a
membership of over 410.000 (as of December 2016), HKFTU is the largest labour
organization in Hong Kong.
HKFTU program advocate:
HKFTU are dedicated to fully participating in
labour, social and political affairs, safeguarding the rights of employees and
providing a variety of welfare services to meet the needs of members and people
of Hong Kong.
HKFTU’s first priority is to safeguard labour
rights and fight for the welfare of employees. HKFTU always strives for the
best interests of grassroots workers as well as clerical staff, including
banking staff, teachers and civil servants, by advocating their rights and
benefits, providing value-added studying courses and medical services.
For all
these years, from our hard-earned battle for severance payment, the enactment
of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, and the retirement protection to
employees, to minimum wage legislation, we stand at the forefront of defending
labour’s rights and welfare. As we focus on the livelihood as well as
‘work-life-balance’ of all employees, HKFTU advocates the introduction of
standard working hours in order to set a standard on weekly working hours and
ensured paid overtime_ HKFTU.
The results showed that candidates’ records of
long service at community levels counted little in the election, FTU president
Stanley Ng Chau-pei said.
We will
reflect deeply on our failure and improve our work in future. He added that
political demands had overridden livelihood issues.
Ng, in accordance with BPA spokesman, thinks
that the election was held in an extremely unfair and disorderly environment,
which saw repeated violent attacks against FTU candidates.
Nearly 30 of the FTU’s training centers,
medical clinics and councilors’ offices were vandalized. Many candidates’
posters were torn down and destroyed.
Epilogue
The Western press and its political scientist
(or propagandist?) omit and try to forget that the political principle of
"one country, two systems", forces the government of SARHK and the
People's Republic of China to maintain for 50 years which it was one of the
most antisocial capitalist regimes of our time_ a colonial regime, tax haven
for the landless capital, royaum of real estate speculators, refuge from
international white-collar crimes or even the most hateful blood crimes
committed by the worst of its citizens, which the Chinese authorities have
gradually and peacefully reforming, following the principle of "one
country, two systems" and in the fulfilment of the strategic political
contract signed by Hong Kong's Basic Law.
The program that Carrie Lam recently presented
it is a program of democratic reforms that respond to peoples’ claims, which,
of course, arrive late, but paradoxically will be reinforced with these
results.
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