How Hong Kong will forge its own future through the new Election Committee

The Election Committee subsector elections next Sunday will be a far cry from the 2016 polls, in terms of size of the electorate
But, under new rules made by Beijing, the revamped committee will ensure the right candidates are elected to govern Hong Kong

Regina Ip

Published: 6:45am, 12 Sep 2021

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In a week’s time, a new Election Committee will be elected in Hong Kong. It will be the first election held under new rules made by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on March 30, and a curtain-raiser for two pivotal elections: the Legislative Council poll on December 19, and the chief executive election next March 27.

The importance of the Election Committee election cannot be overemphasised. Under the new rules, members of this committee will have the power to nominate and elect not only the next chief executive, but also 40 members of the expanded, 90-strong Legco.

Hong Kong’s future, after years of division, turmoil and stagnation, rests heavily on who gets to decide our next generation of leaders.

The Election Committee has been reconstituted such that, except for two subsectors comprising entirely ex officio members (legislators and Hong Kong representatives to the Two Sessions), and two others consisting entirely of nominated members (the religious subsector and the subsector comprising associations of Hong Kong residents on the mainland), all sectors have seats open to competition and can be elected by registered corporate or individual voters.

Perhaps because the rules are new – relevant legislation was passed only in May – far fewer candidates have stepped forward to compete for seats on the enlarged, 1,500-strong Election Committee.

As a result, seats in 23 subsectors have already been filled uncontested. More precisely, 1,084 members have already been decided, including 325 ex officio members, 156 nominees, and 603 uncontested candidates.

That means, come next Sunday, only 412 candidates for 13 subsectors will compete for 364 seats, or 24 per cent of seats, on the Election Committee.

Measured in terms of the size of the electorate (which has fallen sharply from 246,000 in 2016 to around 8,000 this year) and the intensity of the competition, the polls will be a far cry from the Election Committee subsector elections held in 2016.

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Yet these elections will make a big difference to the future of Hong Kong. They will ensure “patriots” govern Hong Kong, a paramount principle enunciated by Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, on February 22 in Shenzhen, and reiterated at a forum on July 16 marking the first anniversary of the implementation of Hong Kong’s national security law.

The patriotism requirement is not a last-minute move to shut out the opposition, or cripple Hong Kong’s democratic development. This requirement dates back to the 1980s, when the question of Hong Kong’s future after 1997 was thrust to the fore by Sino- British negotiations.

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At the time, Deng Xiaoping, China’s de facto leader, stressed to his visitors that China’s non-negotiable position was the resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong as of July 1, 1997.

Hong Kong would be a special administrative region, with its own separate system and lifestyle, within China, under the “one country, two systems” formula; maintaining two separate systems within one country was a bold and unprecedented concept.

To ensure the success of the formula, Deng stressed that Hong Kong must be ruled by “patriots”, meaning Hongkongers who truly support Hong Kong’s reunification with mainland China, respect the Chinese people and who would not do anything to damage the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong.

Why Hong Kong electoral reform is a double-edged sword for Beijing

The idea that Hong Kong must be governed by patriots, in all branches of the government, has always been the underlying principle. Yet, as various mainland scholars have pointed out, it is not easy to differentiate true patriots from fake ones; nor would it be in the nation’s interest to have “loyal garbage”, that is, self-styled “patriots” of questionable competence.

Picking true and competent patriots to govern Hong Kong has always been a challenge for Beijing, and its choices have an impact not only on Hong Kong, but also on the safety and security of the nation.

The new electoral system was designed to cure these ills.

In the past 24 years, unfortunately, we have seen how the expansion of the elective element at all levels in our governance system has led to an alarming rise in chaos and dysfunction in society, and a decline in the competence of elected representatives who were more preoccupied with forcing “regime change” than with solving real problems for the people.

Democracy in any part of the world ought to be built on acceptance of the sovereignty and constitutional set-up of the nation. Democracy would become a danger to any nation if it was hijacked by anti-government forces and turned into a subversive movement.

A chief executive election committee which ended up returning a candidate backed by external forces and opposed to China, or who attempts to break Hong Kong away from China, would be a recipe for disaster for the 7.4 million residents of Hong Kong, local or expat.

The revamped Election Committee will have a strong contingent of members drawn from various subsectors with a strong connection to and understanding of China, who will ensure the right candidates are elected to govern Hong Kong.

It will be more broadly representative of Hong Kong’s community, including representatives of grass-roots organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as distinguished scientists, educators and professionals.

It’s early days. Competition for seats on the Election Committee is likely to increase once those who aspire to rule Hong Kong become more familiar with the new rules and requirements. But it is for Hong Kong to find its own way to develop, and forge its own future, within the framework of China’s constitutional requirements. Nothing short of that could succeed.

Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee is a lawmaker and chairwoman of the New People’s Party