Fans regard budget as policy address

01 perspective

Written by: Comment Editor

2020-02-18 17:40

The Financial Secretary, Chen Maobo, will read out a new budget next Wednesday (February 26). All sectors hope that the government will revitalize the economy and improve people's livelihood after the double blow of anti-revision demonstrations and Wuhan pneumonia in Hong Kong. It is a pity that many politicians are still not doing their jobs. For example, the Democratic Party submitted a very politicized proposal to Chen Maobo not from the perspective of public finance, and some other popular parties are also short-sighted and lack of reflection. Ask the government to support the level of fighting the epidemic, instead of promoting Hong Kong with a longer-term perspective to resolve the deep-seated structural contradictions and fundamentally overcome the problems facing this city.

The Budget is not a policy address. It should focus on the allocation of resources and the use of public funds. It is not necessary to bundle it with political disputes. Although the Democratic Party proposed to Chen Maobo some suggestions for increasing housing supply and developing the regional economy, but the relevant content was placed at the back of the proposal, and the anti-revision legislation movement was put at the forefront, proving that the issue of economic livelihood is fundamental in the eyes of the Pan-DPC Not the most important. In fact, the title of the proposal alone-"Facing the Anti-Legislative Movement Public Opinion and Immediately Reorganizing the Police Force to Achieve Political Accountability"-fully reflects the Democratic Party's politicization of the budget.

Politics goes to politics

We do not underestimate the anti-government sentiment revealed by the Anti-Amendment Movement, but this sentiment should be channeled through appropriate channels, and politicians should also play a role in leading public opinion, rather than being led by public opinion in turn. The "implementation of dual universal suffrage" and "realization of political accountability" mentioned in the proposal are the expectations of many citizens and are reasonable. However, these requirements should be referred to the policy address, the Legislative Council elections, and even political reforms in due course. Consulting to deal with. Democrats as professional politicians can't possibly be clear about such a simple truth.

In fact, the problem of the general public is not simply that it is too politicized. The bigger problem is that, like the organizational system, the crux of the Hong Kong problem cannot be grasped. For example, the Citizens Party on Tuesday (18th) asked the government to send money to adult citizens in Hong Kong, the government rented properties to reduce rents, and paid subsidies to dismissed people. The Anti-Amendment Movement and Wuhan Pneumonia seriously hit the economy and the people ’s livelihood. This is an ironclad fact. Providing support to the affected citizens is a matter of course, but this is only a temporary measure. The only effective way is through comprehensive reforms to overcome Hierarchical contradictions.

Good Governance Must Be More Than A Slogan

"Hong Kong 01" has always believed that the deep-seated structural contradictions of Hong Kong originated from the "free market" myth in the era of British rule. As a result, real estate hegemony was rampant and the structure of vested interests was seriously distorted. But these problems are not just the responsibility of the government, as are the political parties. For example, although the Democratic Party has recently talked about land resumption and housing construction, we should not forget that it supported the listing of The Link, dismissed small businesses, and had no commitment to fairness and justice. What is even more distressing is that, in addition to calling for democratic elections, the general public only asks the government to send money for social problems and governance difficulties. They do not understand that if there is only freedom and democracy without fairness and justice in the people ’s livelihood, it will only be inferior democracy.

Criticizing the populace, of course, does not mean that the establishment is the same. However, after the general public has obtained public support after anti-revision, they should be able to stand up to public opinion and look at Hong Kong's structural problems from a higher perspective. This is our expectation for the people. Hong Kong has been lingering for too long, and the problems that could have been resolved early have not been addressed in a timely manner. We hope that after the Anti-Amendment Campaign and the new pneumonia epidemic, Hong Kong can start all-round reform as soon as possible to shake the deep-seated structural contradictions. This requires not only the courage of the government, but also the painstaking reflection and cooperation of political parties. If politicians continue to be diligent, Hong Kong will eventually have to speculate.

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01 perspective

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