Political situation
Written by: Lin Jian
2020-07-24 07:00
Last update date: 2020-07-24 07:00Stepping into the early morning of July 18, the current session of the Legislative Council officially ended. In accordance with traditional practices, more than 60 legislators gathered in the Chamber to take a group photo. However, unlike previous years, this time there is a group photo of the establishment and the establishment, and the democrats and the democrats. The Chuhe Han community has become a microcosm of the entire Hong Kong society. The original unusual phenomenon has become the most common scene in today's political landscape. "Hong Kong 01" interviewed the Honorary Chairman of the Liberal Party who had been in the Chamber in 1981 and had witnessed the changes in the Legislative Council, Provisional Legislative Council and the Legislative Council. Selina Zhou, talk about the changes in the political situation in Hong Kong over the years.
Selina Zhou believes that in today's situation, regardless of the democratic and the establishment, the political stance tends to be polarized. The establishment only understands "more votes and fewer votes" and goes with the government. Democrats have no good way to break the situation, and often can only complain. All limbs fight. But she pointed out that a normally functioning parliament should balance the opinions of all parties, discuss rationally and reach a consensus, lamenting that the old parliament’s culture of rationality, demeanor, and cross-party cooperation has never returned, and that even group photos must be separated.
As a veteran-level establishment figure, Selina Zhou also made no secret of the fact that the overall performance of the establishment in reflecting the wishes of the people is disappointing, sometimes even "going farther" than the government, which exacerbated the seriousness of the problem.
Witness the Legislative Council and the Provisional Legislative Council to the Legislative Council to remember the era of the "Eight-Party Alliance"
As early as 1981, he was appointed by the then Governor MacLehose as a member of the Legislative Council. He has transitioned to the Provisional Legislative Council and the Legislative Council after the reunification. He did not retreat until 2008; served as the chairman of the Liberal Party, a member of the Executive Council, and a brigade Bureau chairman and other positions. Selina Zhou's experience in politics, I believe no one will doubt it. Seeing the political situation in Hong Kong today, Zhou Liang naturally felt very profound. "At present, both the yellow and blue factions are going to extremes, and they are not focusing on serious people's livelihood policies. They only focus on confrontation. Whether it is the parliament or the government, it is not a good thing for Hong Kong."
Zhou Liang believes that Hong Kong’s parliamentary culture is regressing: “Discussing politics should persuade people with reason, use debate to win over opponents, and be reasonable, not just counting enough votes. In our age, although we are also an establishment, we are not. Relying on "more votes and less votes," Tian Beijun and I will try our best to act as a buffer. In the early years, we even had a cross-party "Eight-Party Alliance" to promote policies." She explained that even if there are enough votes and power, we cannot After everything was exhausted, he dismissed the other party's opinions and rushed to kill. "Different political opinions does not mean that the problem cannot be solved. Many things can be considered."
Zhou Liang pointed out that as soon as the current establishments heard the government "puffing chickens," they all "returned to the team." The government has become accustomed to unconditionally supporting the establishments. "Even if you have a majority in the parliament, remember that every member has someone behind it. You can't be someone else's "unrecognized". Of course the one who is bullied will feel it."
Recalling a word from an official in 2003 : If you pin a hard man, you will bleed.
She mentioned that under certain circumstances, such as the disputes under the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, the establishment did not play a role in reflecting the wishes of Hong Kong people and relying on Hong Kong's interests, and sometimes even did more than the government. "Why did the government (last year) insist on breaking the law so hard on June 9? Because you know that you have enough votes. Sometimes you don't have to jump to that way. To agree to something, you have to listen to the wishes of the Hong Kong people." Zhou Selina Leung said bluntly: "Sometimes I feel that the establishment members are disappointing."
At the same time, government officials became increasingly disregarded of public opinion. Zhou Liang cited the Article 23 controversy in 2003 as an example. In that year, 500,000 people took to the streets to oppose the legislation. Democrats called on the people to surround the Legislative Council. She quoted a senior government official at the time as saying: "If the government puts a tough call on it, it will be bloody. La." In the end, the Liberal Party reversed and the government halted legislation, avoiding a crisis. However, the current government has not taken into account the political consequences of ignoring public opinion. In the end, there are many scenes that people do not want to see.
Having said so much, it seems that in today's political situation, the government and the establishment are mainly responsible? Selina Zhou shook her head and said, "Things will not be unilateral. The former Panmins would not use some drastic means to obtain the desired effect again and again. It is difficult to judge this matter as "the chicken first decides the egg first." "But she pointed out that in a normally functioning council, there should be a minimum of mutual respect between different camps. It is not about criticizing each other at the beginning and then violently, because this will not solve the problem.
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Stressed to still support all candidates from the Liberal Party
When it comes to the establishment of the "buffer" role, many people will naturally think of the Liberal Party led by Tian Beijun in 2003, which turned over in the 23-Article legislative dispute and eventually pulled the legislation down. Selina Zhou, who is still a member of the Liberal Party, and two other honorary chairmen Tian Beijun, Miriam Liu, and current party leader Zhong Guobin, are the initiators of the Pakatan Harapan Coalition and support middle-line people to participate in the Legislative Council election. The outside world is naturally curious, does it mean that the elders of the Liberal Party are not satisfied with the performance of the current establishment, including the Liberal Party, so they have to start anew?
Selina Zhou responded that Pakatan Harapan is not a political party. She is still a member of the Liberal Party. There is no conflict between the work of the two parties. The Liberal Party is still center-right, focusing on business and advocating small government. She pointed out that what the Pakatan Harapan needs to do is not to advocate "soliciting speculation," because this will greatly harm the economy and people's livelihood. They intend to obtain a key minority to reconstruct a balanced situation on the political map and provide a way out for Hong Kong. "The political power must be balanced before the parliament can go on." She emphasized that the overall principles of the alliance are based on the best interests and wishes of the people of Hong Kong.
But for the Liberal Party, she did not want to comment more, saying only that this is the reality of the establishment. The whole faction is required to fully cooperate with the government, and the Liberal Party cannot help it. The reporter asked whether this was due to the fact that the Liaison Office of the Central Committee of the People's Republic of China held the ticket behind the scenes? Zhou Liang simply replied: "It's possible." Selina Zhou emphasized that she will continue to support current and upcoming members of the Liberal Party.
Talking about National Security Law: Continue to express the concern of Hong Kong people
In any case, what happened in Hong Kong over the past year is irreversible. The central government directly enacted a national security law for Hong Kong, and the provisions are even more "hot". Selina Zhou pointed out that the National Security Law is a situation that Hong Kong people don't want to see, but the country does have this power, and the central government sees that Hong Kong's parliament is polarized and unable to function, which is believed to be one of the reasons for direct legislation. She believes that even if the National Security Law has been established, there is still much work to be done on the middle line.
"We have to speak very sincerely, where are our concerns. For example, how to enforce the law? Is it enforced in a way that is acceptable to Hong Kong people and in a common law way? Of course you can say that Hong Kong can do so after the National Security Law. Settling down, there are not so many violent demonstrations on the streets, but Hong Kong people have concerns about legislation at the same time."
She also pointed out that the Liberal Party’s decision to oppose legislation in 2003 was based on the fact that the environment at that time was indeed unsuitable. However, the three chief executives since Tung Chee-hwa have adopted an attitude of avoiding Article 23 legislation and have not thought about what improvements can be made. Responding to and dispelling the public’s concerns; on the other hand, the government has divided society more and more, messing up the social atmosphere, making legislation even more difficult, and breaking out an unprecedented wave of demonstrations, which finally attracted central legislation.
Selina Chow understands that in political reality, legislators are always under pressure from all directions, but this is the time to test their political wisdom: "When pressure comes, you have to choose when to compromise and when not to compromise. The most important thing is The consideration is, when you make a decision, do you consider the best interests of the people of Hong Kong and the overall wishes? This requires both skill and persistence."
Responding to a former party member who took the "extreme blue" route: he himself has to explain why this is the case
Having said so many expectations for the establishment, back to reality, the political situation is still so polarized. Among them, former district councillor Li Zijing, who has been a member of the Liberal Party for many years and took the lead in the 2016 Legislative Council New Territories East election, has turned into an internet celebrity after his re-election failed last year. His style has become darker and darker. He finally resigned from the party and joined the New Democratic Party. Publicly declare that there is no way to go in the middle. Both the Pakatan Harapan and the Liberal Party want to take a moderate line to ease the contradiction, but a "very blue" politician has emerged from the party to continue to deepen the contradiction. As a Liberal Party veteran, will Selina Chow feel "unfortunate at home"?
Zhou Liang said that Li Zijing has already resigned from the party and he is free to join the party, and it is inconvenient to comment too much. But she said: "He wants to explain to voters why the political stance is swinging like this. It is their own decision whether the voters accept it or not."
Lamenting that the two factions have become a fire and water, "It's a pity"
Today, the two factions of the democratic establishment are in conflict, and even the group photo after the end of the conference has to be separated. Speaking of the last, Selina Zhou lamented: "The parliament is a whole, one institution. No matter how big differences you have outside, you will ultimately be good for this place and make some decisions for this place. But at the moment, both factions are the same. It's getting more and more extreme. You have yours, and I have mine. This is really a shame. This is what I, Tian Beijun, and Miriam Liu hope to repair, otherwise the entire council will be gone."
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