HONG KONG
- Though some argue that the Hong Kong legislature
election ended in a "win-win situation", it remains
doubtful whether the result reflects a triumph for the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) as a
whole.
In the election on Sunday, some say that
the Beijing government appeared the winner because
advocates of greater democracy failed to secure a
majority in the legislature. Meanwhile, the pro-Beijing
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong
(DAB) has replaced its Democratic counterpart to become
the largest party in the newly formed Legislative
Council, Legco.
The pro-democracy camp
captured 18 of 30 directly elected seats, up from the 17
seats it now holds. Pre-election polls showed the
democrats might take as many as 21 seats. The remainder of
seats went to supporters of Beijing-backed Chief Executive
Tung Chee-hwa. The DAB won 12 seats, compared with the 12 seats
it secured in the 2000 election.
The public
voted for half of the seats in the 60-member body. The
remaining 30 are reserved for special interest groups,
including accountants, banks and stock brokerages. The
Democrats secured seven of those seats. That increased
their margin of overall seats to 25 from 22 in the last
legislature.
The pro-democracy camp will point
out that the number of legislators supporting broad
suffrage in 2007 has increased from 22 in the last
office to 25. Advocates of greater democracy said they
are supported by about 60% of the total 3.2 million
voters, and this figure on its own has conveyed a very
clear message to Beijing leaders.
The Hong Kong
government is happy with the outcome, too. A
record-breaking 1.78 million people, or 55.63% of the
total registered voting population, showed up at the
polling places. The SAR claims this reflects Hong Kong
people's support of the election system. The turnout
compares with the previous record of 53.3%, set in 1998.
Analysts said the Beijing leaders can now put
aside their worries over Hong Kong and concentrate on
their internal politics. Under the fear that the
Democrats could defeat the Beijing allies in a landslide
victory, the Beijing leaders pulled out all the stops to
avoid this possibility. The mainland government
organized two military parades and even dispatched all
of its Olympic gold medallists for athletic
demonstrations to Hong Kong just days before the
election. The Chinese central government even sent a
relic of one of Buddha's fingers to Hong Kong in a bid
to win the hearts of the Hong Kong people.
A spate of sex and financial scandals coinciding with
the campaign complicated the situation. Analysts said
these scandals had confused some voters. In addition,
three pro-democracy radio talk-show hosts quit last spring,
sparking a controversy over whether the Beijing
government had plotted to manipulate the election.
Regardless of whether the scandals and various
conspiracy theories are true or not, Beijing leaders now
can concentrate their efforts on the upcoming party
plenum, which is scheduled for this week, Thursday
through Saturday.
Other observers disputed the
claim that Beijing could now more ahead, saying the
situation was much more complicated.
In an
unprecedented case, a noisy pro-democracy candidate -
and vociferous critic of Tung - Leung Kwok-hung, was
elected to the legislature for the first time. Leung is
widely seen as a radical, he has been sentenced to jail
four times before for his protests. Analysts said
Leung's election reflects the reality that a growing
number of people in Hong Kong are demanding a more
radical approach to force China's leadership to replace
pro-Beijing Tung - and institute universal suffrage in
the near future.
It is expected that Leung will
join some other outspoken critics of Tung, such as
former radio talk show host Albert Cheng, and that the
Tung administration will be under greater pressure.
Under such circumstances, the Tung administration is
expected to be forced to fight an uphill battle if it
plans to submit any controversial policies.
What is troubling is the expectation that some bills or motions
less favored by the pro-Beijing government will enjoy a
greater chance of passage. The label of a lame-duck
administration could be reinforced by this factor of
more pro-democracy legislators, though overall still
very few.
If the Tung administration is hobbled
by the new legislature, the Beijing government could be
under pressure to promote more more policies to revive
Hong Kong's economy, as well as its international image.
Further, the Tung administration was also
severely criticized because some polling stations were
inadequately prepared and lacked sufficient ballot
boxes. The lines were long and the boxes overflowed with
paper. Some registered voters had to wait for 45 minutes
to cast their ballots.
Perhaps the greatest
consolation for the Tung administration and Beijing
leaders is that they are not the only losers in this
election. Tensions within the pro-democracy camp are
mounting, and relations between individual candidates
could be soured by the ferocious competition for votes.
Legislator Cyd Ho has lost her place in the legislature
after losing some 800 votes to her pro-Beijing
competitor Tsoi So-yuk. It is said that a substantial
number of Cyd Ho's supporters switched their votes to
former Democratic Party chief Martin Lee. Critics said
members of the pro-democracy camp have failed to demonstrate
capacity to coordinate with each other.
The
3.2 million registered voters in Hong Kong choose 30 of
the Legislature Council's 60 members. That is an
increase from the 24 members elected four years ago. Only
200,000 residents and corporations are allowed to vote for
the other 30 lawmakers, who represent industries
and professions such as banking and law. Eleven candidates from
these so-called functional constituencies ran unopposed
and were automatically elected.
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