SCIO briefing on the current situation in Hong Kong
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 4, 2019
ITAR-TASS News Agency:
The protestors have put forward five major demands and claimed that "all five demands must be fulfilled." Several days ago, 24 members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council signed a letter to call for a restart of Hong Kong's political reform to practice "dual universal suffrage." What is the attitude of the central government towards the five major demands? Is it acceptable for the central government that there must be a full withdrawal of the proposed extradition bill and an independent investigation into police actions? Did Chief Executive Carrie Lam refuse those demands under central government instructions? Thanks.
Yang Guang:
I didn't expect you are so good at Chinese. You have made your questions very clear. What I want to say is that, in any civilized and law-based society all demands must be proposed in accordance with the law. Over the past two months, some radical protestors have, in the name of their "five major demands," intentionally disregarded the rights to a peaceful life of Hong Kong people and the overall stability and prosperity of Hong Kong, unscrupulously committed violence, trampled on Hong Kong's rule of law and social order, and challenged the bottom line of the "one country, two systems" principle. This has damaged the interests of not only Hong Kong but the whole country. They are by no means expressing demands; what they are doing is engaging in "political intimidation" and "political coercion" through and through. As I mentioned just now, their acts have nothing to do with the proposed extradition bill. They have taken aim at the HKSAR government in a bid to seize the administrative power of Hong Kong and render the "one country, two systems" principle defunct. In fact, their ultimate demand is "dual universal suffrage." Here, in order to put an end to misunderstanding and misinterpretation, I would like to elaborate on this matter of "dual universal suffrage."
First of all, I must reaffirm one fact: It is after Hong Kong's return to the motherland that Hong Kong's democratic system was truly established and developed. I must point out another equally important fact: the aim of the selection of the Chief Executive and all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage has been stipulated in the Basic Law. Since the establishment of the HKSAR, the central government has been supporting the HKSAR in steadily and rapidly developing democracy in accordance with the Basic Law and other relevant decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
As everyone knows, a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Dec. 29, 2007 stipulated the method for selecting the Chief Executive of the HKSAR by universal suffrage as of 2017, and also selecting all members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage after the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage is realized. As a result, the decision established a timetable for "dual universal suffrage." Another decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Aug. 31, 2014 provided a framework and core elements for the method of selecting the Chief Executive by universal suffrage. The Aug. 31 decision won the support and recognition of most Hong Kong residents. Unfortunately, due to the opposition of some Legislative Council members, the universal suffrage bill drafted according to the Aug. 31 decision did not win the necessary two-thirds majority vote. Therefore, Hong Kong has lost a precious opportunity to achieve the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage 20 years after its return to the motherland. In other words, the culprits hindering Hong Kong's democracy are actually the opposition themselves.
Why did the opposition veto the bill against the will of the majority? To put it bluntly, the universal suffrage system provided by the Aug. 31 decision is not what they wanted. What do they want, then? As a matter of fact, they preferred a universal suffrage system exceeding the limits of the Basic Law and the relevant decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and could help them select a Chief Executive representing their position and, at the same time, not being accountable to the central government, all of which will pave the way for them to ultimately seize administrative power in Hong Kong. Any mechanism that can help achieve this goal would be what they call "real universal suffrage"; any mechanism that falls short would be their so-called "fake universal suffrage."
Today, I must make it clear that anyone who harbors this illusion is doomed to fail. Whenever Hong Kong's political reform is restarted, Hong Kong's universal suffrage must be in line with the Basic Law and the relevant decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
I must also make it clear that Hong Kong's universal suffrage must adhere to a basic principle: it must be in line with Hong Kong's political status. What does this mean? Let me give you a brief introduction. The first sentence of the Preamble of the Basic Law reads: "Hong Kong has been part of the territory of China since ancient times." Article 1 of Chapter 1 of the Basic Law provides that "the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China." Article 12 of Chapter 2 (Relationship between the Central Authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) of the Basic Law provides that "the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be a local administrative region of the People's Republic of China, which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy directly under the Central People's Government." Each of these forms the first sentence of the corresponding chapter, which tells their importance. The three sentences completely and clearly define Hong Kong's political status. Hong Kong's political system, including its universal suffrage system, must abide by and serve the purpose of its political status. As a result, Article 43 of Chapter 4 (Political Structure) of the Basic Law, again in the first sentence, provides that "the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be accountable to the Central People's Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the provisions of this Law." That is the most important duties and mission of the Chief Executive. Then, Article 45 of the Basic Law provides that the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be selected by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures. After this, the Chief Executive shall be appointed by the Central People's Government. Each of the three links - nomination, universal suffrage, and appointment – is indispensable and plays a substantive role. That is the real meaning of universal suffrage in Hong Kong.
Any universal suffrage system that meets the abovementioned requirements is real universal suffrage. Only in this way can we select a Chief Executive who loves the country and loves Hong Kong, and can win the trust of the central government and the recognition of the Hong Kong people. Only by doing this can we ensure that the "one country, two systems" principle will be comprehensively and precisely implemented. As to Hong Kong's universal suffrage, there is no other option. Above all, we must stick to the "one country, two systems" principle, the Basic Law and the relevant decisions made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
As to the other demands, I have dealt with them in my previous remarks. I would like to stress that the biggest demand and the strongest appeal right now is to "stop violence, end the chaos and restore order." This is the most important and most urgent task, and this is what we should do to actively and earnestly respond to the demands of the people. We will unswervingly support Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the HKSAR government in exercising their respective power and functions in accordance with the law, the Hong Kong police in implementing the law rigorously, and the relevant government departments and judicial organs in fulfilling their duties and punishing violent criminals. We hope every citizen who loves Hong Kong will act to boycott violence and support the action of the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong police. Thank you!
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