Waving
colonial-era flags, tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters have staged a
massive rally in Hong Kong demanding full electoral freedom. But will this be
enough for Beijing to back down?
Deutsche Welle, 1 July 2014
"The
huge crowds gathered here reflect the willingness of the people of Hong Kong to
take action and sacrifice for the sake of democracy," said Joseph Cheng.
The political science professor from the City University of Hong Kong is one of
many city residents who took part in the this year's July 1 rally to mark the
day the territory was returned to China in 1997 after more than a century of
British rule.
Passions
were running particularly high this time around as tens of thousands marched
through the heart of the city demanding more democracy and accusing Beijing of
taking their civil liberties away. Some, chanting anti-Beijing slogans and
waving colonial-era flags, even called for the city's chief executive to be
sacked in a move seen by many as a direct challenge to the rule of the
Communist Party of China (CPC).
The mass
demonstration came just a day after polls closed in an unofficial referendum on
democratic reform which drew an unexpectedly high turnout of nearly 800,000
votes - more than a fifth of the city's electorate - but was slammed by Beijing
as an "illegal farce" that was "tinged with mincing
ludicrousness."
 |
| Early June Beijing issued a "white paper" on its relations with the special administrative region |
Exceeding
expectations
The 10-day
poll - which took place online and at physical polling stations - was intended
to urge Chinese authorities to allow opposition democrats to run in a 2017
citywide election for a new chief minister. The vote gave city residents three
options on how the poll should be carried out - all of which included the
public having some influence on the selection of candidates. Beijing has
promised direct elections in 2017, but has ruled out allowing voters to choose
who can run for the top job. Both the vote and the rally were organized by the
pro-democratic protest group Occupy Central with Love and Peace (OCLP).
In a DW
interview, Joseph Cheng, described the poll as "platform for the Hong Kong
people to articulate their views on political reform," adding that true
universal suffrage was the only way to ensure that the people will have a
meaningful choice and that the vote will be genuinely competitive. But Cheng
also pointed out that Chinese authorities are extremely sensitive to the idea
of allowing such polls as they could be interpreted as a challenge to the CPC's
authority. "The authorities are also very worried about similar votes
being carried out in Taiwan or regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang," he
added.
Beijing's
'white paper'
Shortly
before the referendum got underway, China's State Council's Information Office
issued a white paper on June 9 reiterating that Beijing had "comprehensive
jurisdiction" over the former British colony. The policy document stated
that some people were "confused or lopsided in their understanding of one
country, two systems and that this has led to "many wrong views"
about the city's economy, society and the development of its political system.
Robert
Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the US at the Woodrow
Wilson Center for Scholars, says Hong Kong is only as special as Beijing allows
it to be. However, it is not in China's interest that the territory functions
simply as one more Chinese city. "Beijing benefits from Hong Kong's
openness and from its attractiveness to foreign corporations. Cracking down too
harshly on Hong Kong would put the lie to overtures the PRC makes to Taiwan
under the "One Country, Two Systems' banner."
Most Hong
Kong residents are pragmatic and hope for good relations with the People's
Republic, Daly added. But they also want the city to remain unique and modern.
The want to enjoy freedoms of speech, information, and association, and they
want to participate meaningfully in their own governance.
Hong Kong's
Basic Law promised those things to the people of Hong Kong and since 1997,
Beijing has, in the main, honored its promise. "The recent White Paper
issued by Beijing, however, called the promise into question with its
implication that Hong Kong administrative personnel, including judges, must now
take direction from Beijing."
China
scholar Perry Link told DW that the aim of the white paper was to intimidate
democrats and make clear that Beijing intends to continue its 'digestion' of
Hong Kong. "It appears to be a clear violation of Deng Xiaoping's promise
of "one country, two systems" for fifty years. But in fact it is not
really new. Deng's promise was never a promise in the conventional sense,"
Link said.
Link
believes that Beijing's increasingly tight control of Hong Kong won't make much
of a difference economically as most of the city's tycoons are already allied
with Beijing. Politically, however, this will sharpen and deepen the political
problems in Hong Kong, he said. "This will enforce a surface appearance of
unity with Beijing, but cover a resentful populace who will now have even more reason
to feel resentful", the China expert said.
'A
polarized society'
Tim
Pringle, a Hong Kong permanent resident and senior lecturer at SOAS University
of London, has a similar view. He told Hong Kong society had become
increasingly polarized since 2003 when the city witnessed the first great
pro-democracy march of the post-colonial era.
Pringle
explains that while a vibrant students and workers' movement has emerged, what
happens in the city does not take place in isolation. "If Beijing fails to
exercise considerable influence over the arrangements for the next election of
Chief Executive, this would give succor to those demanding democratic reforms
in the mainland. Therefore, the chances of an entirely unfettered election in
2017 are slim."
 |
| Nearly 800,000 people participated in the referendum |
Pringle
points to the fact that despite the massive support in favor of direct
elections for the chief executive post, there are also significant number of
Hong Kong people who support Beijing as an expression of their patriotism or
because they agree with the argument that Hong Kong folks are more concerned
with 'making money' than engaging in political struggles. "While there is
strong evidence to suggest that the majority of Hong Kong people support direct
elections, it is not the case that Beijing is on a collision course with Hong
Kong residents in general."
According
to Daly, the protests will, therefore, have only a limited impact as China will
continue to insist that only candidates who "Love China" - i.e. take
directions from Beijing when it chooses to provide it - are qualified to run
for chief post. "Hong Kong is, irrevocably, part of China and, under the
Beijing formula, 'without the Communist Party, there would be no new China.'
That's the bottom line; the interests of the Party and Chinese State are one.
Hong Kong must operate under that umbrella."
What next?
As for the
pro-democracy campaign, analysts argue Beijing will prefer to divide and weaken
this movement and perhaps isolate its more "radical" wing rather than
collide with it head-on. "A key challenge for the movement will be to
maintain unity as some of the more radical actions planned unfold – such as
occupying the central financial district – while leaving room for Beijing to
compromise," said Pringle.
Daly shares
a similar view: "Beijing needs to find a way to acknowledge the Hong Kong
demonstrators' concerns - to mollify them without emboldening them. But it's
getting harder to square that circle. To date, mollification hasn't been style
of Chinese President Xi Jinping."
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.