<strong>for</strong> <strong>pdf</strong> 2/10/05 1:40 PM Page 8Character: vote8 SIPA NEWS
<strong>for</strong> <strong>pdf</strong> 2/10/05 1:40 PM Page 9The Hong Kong ParadoxBy Maria MaHigh StakesIn today’s topsy-turvy world <strong>of</strong>Hong Kong politics, capitalist tycoons are alignedwith the Chinese Communist Party, those who fly theLiberal Party banner are actually political conservatives,<strong>and</strong> more than half a million residents <strong>of</strong> a territoryonce stereotyped as caring less about politics thanmaking a buck have participated in the biggestpolitical protests on Chinese soil since the 1989Tiananmen Square demonstrations.Paradoxes, strange bedfellows, <strong>and</strong> other surprisesare common in times <strong>of</strong> political transition,<strong>and</strong> Hong Kong is no exception. Onceeconomist Milton Friedman’s favorite example <strong>of</strong>successful laissez-faire governance, Hong Kongis experiencing upheaval as pro-democracy <strong>and</strong>pro-Beijing <strong>for</strong>ces spar over the territory’s politicalfuture. At stake, both sides say, is the nature<strong>of</strong> Hong Kong’s relationship with Beijing, <strong>and</strong>the very future <strong>of</strong> democracy in the territoryitself. Will Hong Kong claim its autonomy fromBeijing <strong>and</strong> propel itself toward full democratization,perhaps inspiring similar movements onthe mainl<strong>and</strong>? Or will an atavistic Beijing, citingthe need <strong>for</strong> economic security <strong>and</strong> incrementalchange, clamp down on its increasingly assertiveAsian Tiger <strong>and</strong> renege on its promise <strong>of</strong> “OneCountry, Two Systems?”The current battleground issue concernsdirect elections <strong>of</strong> the representational LegislativeCouncil (also known as LegCo) <strong>and</strong> the ChiefExecutive, Hong Kong’s highest <strong>of</strong>fice. Under thepresent rules, only half <strong>of</strong> the 60-member LegCois voted in by the public, while the other half ischosen by blocs <strong>of</strong> business leaders known as functionalconstituencies. The catering industry, <strong>for</strong> example,holds one LegCo seat; so does the real estatesector, in which there are only 757 voters.Similarly, the Chief Executive is chosen byan 800-member committee <strong>of</strong> prominent HongKong figures, many <strong>of</strong> whom hold pro-Beijingsentiments <strong>and</strong>, not coincidentally, businessinterests on the mainl<strong>and</strong>. While the idea <strong>of</strong>wealthy businessmen st<strong>and</strong>ing shoulder-toshoulderwith Communist party cadres mayseem odd to some, those in the business communityfear that political tumult could jeopardizetheir interests in Hong Kong <strong>and</strong> on the mainl<strong>and</strong>.Good relations with China <strong>and</strong> maintainingthe status quo <strong>for</strong> the near future is essential,they say, now that the local economy has begunto recover after a long slump aggravated byincreased competition from the mainl<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong>last year’s SARS crisis.Nevertheless, pro-democracy advocates arecrying foul, charging that the current electoral systemis stacked against them. “It has to be up to thepeople to choose who is going to represent them,”says legislator <strong>and</strong> <strong>for</strong>mer Democratic Party chairmanMartin Lee. “But Beijing is afraid <strong>of</strong> losingcontrol <strong>of</strong> Hong Kong, so it wants to make surethat the majority <strong>of</strong> legislators <strong>and</strong> the ChiefExecutive are going to be people it trusts, eventhough they are not trusted by the Hong Kongpeople.”SIPA NEWS 9