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[01 Weekly Editorial] The Year of the Political Politics

2020-01-06T01:02:11.316Z


Hong Kong will be opened in a very unsettling manner in 2020. On the New Year's Day, Hong Kong Island reappeared as a crowd of demonstrators, but the violent destruction included in it caused the demonstrations that originally belonged to "Hefei" to be seldom chopped and warned again.


01 perspective

Written by: Hong Kong 01

2020-01-06 06:00

Last updated: 2020-01-06 08:54

Hong Kong will be opened in a very unsettling manner in 2020. On the New Year's Day, Hong Kong Island will resemble a crowd of demonstrators. However, the violent damage in it will cause the demonstrations that originally belonged to "Harmony" to be rarely cut off. It warns again that Hong Kong society is still political In the whirlpool, the government's road to "stop violence" has not reached its end. The wave has not yet been settled. Hong Kong also faces two other fierce political cyclones. On the one hand, the political struggle in the Legislative Council Chamber is continuing. On the other hand, the fight before the Legislative Council elections in September is expected; on the other hand, last October 10 At the end of the month, the decision of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China clearly shows that the central government will not sit idly by and continue to see chaos in Hong Kong, let alone allow Hong Kong to become a threat to national security. Combining these three factors, 2020 is destined to be a "political year". Whether it is the government, politicians or citizens, it is necessary to face it carefully. If it is not handled properly, it may stir up a greater storm. In the end, it will only be the entire Hong Kong. Society bears a heavy price.

In recent years, how the endless political disputes have caused social wastage and idleness has been witnessed by the people of Hong Kong. In this process, people's livelihood issues have repeatedly suffered. In this new year, many distinguished Members have put on their desks many years of cancellation of MPF hedging, garbage levy, and extension of housing construction. It is said that the people's livelihood is the biggest politics, but can the noisy Legislative Council Chamber still accommodate it? It is conceivable that for a group of politicians, especially Pan Ambassadors, they are more concerned about "over-recruiting" with the central government. However, apart from feeling the pressure and anxiety, can everyone fully understand the central government's proposal to uphold and improve the "one country, two systems"? Meaning in the institutional system?

The New Year's Day demonstrations resurfaced. (Profile picture)

The social turmoil caused by the amendment of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance has continued for more than half a year. Violent demonstrations have not yet completely subsided. Although violent acts such as damage to shops and "private" have been reduced and fragmented, there is also the possibility of normalization . Recently, the police's response tactics to public activities and law enforcement have been strengthened, and objectively speaking, they have received the effect of combating violence; the government has also strengthened to prevent young people from committing illegal acts at schools and other levels. However, as we all know, the causes of this social turmoil are complicated. The government uses "hard tricks" and "stops violence and suppresses chaos." The government must also pay attention to social reactions and concerns. More importantly, the government must truly understand public opinion and use "soft moves" to resolve contradictions. In addition to trying to maintain professional restraint, the police must also spend more time responding to various questions from society, correcting mistakes as good as possible, or trying to explain and eliminate misunderstandings; if the education sector is nervous about the pressure on the government, the worries cause "white terror", and the government must take the initiative Communicate and develop clear guidelines for teachers to follow.

After more than half a year of violent demonstrations, whether in theory or in practice, I believe that most Hong Kong people understand that violence and "grabbing" are not the way out, but there are indeed many people who are difficult to "separate" emotionally. Alas, the SAR government is the originator of this paradox. Therefore, the government must do its best to resolve the public grievances behind the violence. For example, the "police riot" problem that many people are concerned about. Of course, the government cannot fear the importance of the police to maintain social order because of the turbulent public sentiment, but it should not ignore the community's concern about police "abuse of power." Responded to questions. The government has always emphasized that police power disputes can be handled through the IPCC mechanism. The IPCC report will be released later this month and the community is paying close attention. If the report fails to meet the demands of the people, is the government ready for the next step?

On the other hand, the demonstrators turned the political dynamics of street protests into "yellow economic circles," intended as a means of "long-term protests." The government has repeatedly stated that it is not. For example, Qiu Tenghua, the director of the Bureau of Commerce and Economics, refuted: "If everyone draws a circle, the first victim is the person who draws the circle." Indeed, from an economic perspective, the "yellow economic circle" The content is sparse and full of contradictions. However, this concept can not be explained by economics alone. It is actually an extension of political issues. The government must deal with the "yellow circle" problem, and cannot understand the success or failure based on economics only. It must understand politics. At the core of the problem, repairing social tears can really break through the illusion.

The Hong Kong Government has no responsibilities. When Chief Executive Lin Zheng Yue'e delivered the 2020 New Year's speech last week, he changed the system that has always emphasized that Hong Kong has a "effective" system. He rarely mentioned that in addition to dealing with the predicament faced by the government, he must also recognize the system's deficiencies and the society for many years. The deep-seated contradictions that have accumulated over time seem to reflect the government's recognition of the seriousness of the problem. In dealing with these issues, the government must not ignore the public sentiment, and must have greater political wisdom.

The government should not ignore society's concerns about police "abuse of power." The picture shows the 831 Prince Edward MTR station incident. (Photo / Photo by Yu Junliang)

Legislative Council elections set off fierce battle to restart political reform is expensive and pragmatic

In addition to the anti-revision storm, a new political cyclone is taking shape in Hong Kong. In September of this year, a new legislative election will be held. In the current political atmosphere with clear barriers, the struggle between constitutionalists, traditional democrats and emerging indigenous groups will become more apparent. In the district board elections at the end of last year, the non-establishment factions snatched 85% of the seats, forming a tremendous political motive. Of course, they hope to continue the momentum to the Legislative Council elections. There are a large number of political amateurs in this District Council. What they are doing is likely to become a "battlefield" of major political parties. Regardless of the non-formist factions that the district boards have won, or the factions seeking to bring back a city, the issues of the district boards may become the "offensive and defensive" point of the Legislative Council election.

In addition, following the current political trend, "restarting the political reform" is likely to become an important political issue in the Legislative Council elections and the next Legislative Council. It will stimulate public activity and even further confront politicians and voters in different political spectrums. "Hong Kong 01" has always emphasized that Hong Kong must carry out an unprecedentedly thorough social reform. Although the deep-seated structural contradictions of Hong Kong will not be resolved simply by implementing the "double universal elections", the promotion of political reform is not only the eager expectation of most Hong Kong people, but also Hong Kong It is the responsibility of the SAR Government to seriously consider issues that cannot be avoided in social development.

In fact, we believe that the Central Government will not oppose the resumption of political reforms. However, since the reunification, Hong Kong has repeatedly encountered obstacles on the road to political reforms. It has been repeatedly stated that political reforms must be based on the mutual trust between Hong Kong and the Central Government. While Hong Kong people are striving for "dual universal suffrage", it is impossible to completely ignore the central government's consideration of implementing "one country" and safeguard national security in Hong Kong. If politicians try to continue to unilaterally force the central government to submit, it is not only impossible to exchange for "dual universal suffrage." Instead it will be counterproductive. To achieve political reform, all circles should pragmatically create a space for dialogue and conduct constructive consultations.

The establishment system ended in the district council elections. The former Democratic Party, which was the largest party in the past and had more than 100 seats, was elected by only 21 people this time. (Profile picture / Photo by Luo Junhao)

The central government reaffirms the principle of governing Hong Kong

With the intensification of the contradiction between dry ports and Hong Kong, it is clear that Hong Kong's social problems cannot be solved by itself, and the central government's policy on Hong Kong is also facing major changes. At the beginning of the new year, the central government made important personnel adjustments in Hong Kong affairs-Luo Huining, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress, was re-designated as the director of the Hong Kong China United Office. This appointment was particularly noticeable because Luo Huining once governed Qinghai and Shanxi, but re-entered the "fire line" when he retired at the end of the year.

Luo Huining has a wealth of local administrative experience, and improving governance is a requirement of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in October last year, which is not only directed to the deep-seated economic structural contradictions that have been fully exposed to the storm of anti-revision legislation. , Also includes a comprehensive understanding and promotion of "one country, two systems." The meeting decided to "adhere to and improve the" one country, two systems "system", which specifically pointed out that in the future, it will focus on improving the constitutional relationship between the Constitution and the Basic Law, the central government's full power over Hong Kong, and preventing acts of secession. And other security issues.

The central government ’s interpretation of “one country, two systems” and related actions are far from the “one country, two systems” that many Hong Kong people imagine. If the two sides cannot pragmatically eliminate misunderstandings, especially if Hong Kong people continue to ignore Hong Kong ’s actual status and constitutional responsibilities, Continued disregard of Hong Kong's political red line under the "one country" principle will only further worsen the land-port relationship and turn political cyclones into storms.

The Fourth Plenary Session proposed that the central red line of the central government lies in the issues of sovereignty and security. Advocating Hong Kong independence, or "inviting" the United States and other Western countries to intervene in Hong Kong affairs, and even touting "China and the United States ruling Hong Kong" are all impacting the country's sovereignty over Hong Kong. The Fourth Plenary Session also proposed "maintaining the constitutional order established by the Constitution and the Basic Law", which is specifically embodied in maintaining the central government's exercise of "full governance power" in Hong Kong. Zhang Xiaoming, the director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, has detailed the ten powers belonging to the central government. They are all stipulated in the Constitution and the Basic Law. It is not a new proposition, but also reflects that Hong Kong's "high degree of autonomy" is based on the national constitutional system. Some people claim no limits.

The new director of the China Joint Affairs Office, Luo Huining, has extensive local administrative experience. (Profile picture)

In the past, especially in the anti-repair turmoil, the trend of Hong Kong independence on paper and the blatant struggle for the United States to pass the Hong Kong Bill of Rights and Democracy were all challenging the central bottom line. Regardless of whether Hong Kong society accepts it or not, when the Central People's Government believes that the situation in Hong Kong society poses a threat to national security, it will inevitably take measures to curb it. If Hong Kong people are unwilling to face the political reality and are willing to look at it in an ostrich way and continue to indulge in illusory political imagination, they will only end up in the "regulated" end, causing greater damage to Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong people cherish "one country, two systems", they must fully understand it and put an end to unrealistic political claims. Only in this way can they enjoy unique rights in a limited space.

Do what you can and ask for yourself. Hong Kong society continues to be shrouded in high-pressure politics. Different stakeholders should be brave enough to let go of their political ideology and replace street protest with rational dialogue and action. As far as politicians are concerned, a lot of government officials must always look for deficiencies and strive for good governance. The constitutionalists must also give up blindly following the government and build on the foundation of fairness and justice for society. Only understand the empty slogan, continue to indulge in populist politics, in order not to be marginalized, but should return to the original intention, and propose practical political proposals. On the other hand, the public must also recognize the reality of Hong Kong, take the courage to let go of their political prejudices, and seek a practical way out pragmatically so that Hong Kong can weather the storm.

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Source: hk1

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