editorial
Written by: Hong Kong 01
2020-08-03 06:00
Last update date: 2020-08-03 06:00Last Friday (July 31), Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that due to the severity of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the preparations for the election were difficult to advance, and hundreds of thousands of overseas voters might not be able to return to Hong Kong to vote. In order to make the election fair, the decision was made The "Emergency Law" will be used to postpone the Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for September 6th for one year, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress will be asked to "decide" how to handle the "vacuum period" of the Legislative Council in the coming year. The postponement of the election for a whole year will inevitably lead to legal and political disputes. If circumstances permit, we believe that the Legislative Council elections should be held as scheduled so that the citizens can exercise their right to vote. However, from the perspective of public health and election fairness, the epidemic is so severe and the uncertainty is so high that it is understandable to postpone the election carefully. Now that the government has made a choice and the central government has also stated that it supports the postponement of elections, Hong Kong society should make good use of this year to look for the possibility of "defense and attack" and turn unsatisfactory encounters into opportunities.
Hong Kong is being affected by the third wave of the epidemic, the severity of which is significantly higher than the previous two waves, and there are no signs of control. In the past two weeks, the number of people diagnosed daily has exceeded 100. The source of the virus has yet to be tracked and studied. Originally, Hong Kong was calm for more than two months after the second wave of the epidemic. Now that the virus is raging again, it shows that society cannot afford to relax. In this situation, the government's decision to postpone the election is justified. Someone pointed out that elections can be resumed after the epidemic subsides, and there is no need to postpone it for a year. However, both the electoral project and the operation of the Legislative Council require a certain amount of time for planning, and it is difficult to change the epidemic prevention measures once or fortnightly like the "Will you work from home next week?"
Many restaurants have posted notices stating that their operations have been suspended due to the epidemic. (Profile picture/Photo by Huang Yingjin)
In the reality of frequent political suspicion and criticism, postponing the Legislative Council election for one year will inevitably make people feel that the government may have political calculations. Some people also accuse the establishment of forcing the government to postpone the election for fear of a major defeat. There are also views that the central government is buying time. The "liquidation" protest faction. However, Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor mentioned at the press conference some factors that affect the fairness of elections brought about by the epidemic-epidemic prevention and control measures prevent candidates from conducting election activities, citizens, especially elderly voters, may not dare to go out to vote due to the epidemic, and voters who live abroad for a long time It is also true that people cannot return to Hong Kong to vote due to entry quarantine control.
Looking at it from another angle, if the protesters believe that voters really support themselves, why are they worried about losing such support after a year? Hong Kong society has experienced anti-revision demonstrations and has not yet completely calmed down from the political upheaval. The newly implemented "Minato National Security Law" has brought new shocks. Everyone has not had time to learn about the "Minato National Security Law" and its influence in China and the United States. What impact will the changes in the overall international situation have on Hong Kong under the battle? In this case, whether to vote rationally or emotionally, it is really unnecessary to say.
It must be understood that the pros and cons of democratic politics do not simply depend on the consideration at the moment of voting. Democracy also requires voters to understand complex social issues and make full discussions and considerations. Sometimes, too much focus on the form of voting, but forget the really important rational discussion, the result is that the weakness of the electoral system is exposed. The Brexitists used all means to exaggerate the benefits of Brexit. They resorted to xenophobia and European suspicion. As a result, the people voted emotionally. Many people immediately expressed regret after the results were announced. Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016 because he succeeded in inciting dissatisfaction among voters. After he came to power, he followed the populist line and introduced many unreasonable policies, but failed to solve social problems, which made the United States gradually lose its international reputation; The new crown epidemic has completely torn off its "emperor's new clothes", but at the cost of losing more than 150,000 lives.
The epidemic in the United States has been severe. (Data Picture/Reuters)
Challenging the bottom line to show all the falsehood and return to the initial psychological questioning of politics
The impact of the anti-amendment turmoil on Hong Kong is unprecedented, but it is not a surprise. It is enough to prove that political disputes cannot deviate from the basic framework of "one country, two systems," and that the central government does not have the possibility of being threatened to submit. Beyond the political red line, it will inevitably encounter a strong counterattack, and the gains outweigh the losses. Many events in the past year contain profound lessons. Just imagine, since the "Occupy Central", what changes have been brought to Hong Kong since "Hong Kong independence", border conflict strategies, threat politics, and even the naive ideas of Western countries such as the United States and Britain to help Hong Kong people fight against the central government? Some politicians promote themselves to "awaken" the people of Hong Kong. This kind of ostrich thinking can hardly conceal the fact that their political gambling was a failure. Continuing to indulge in these vain political fantasies will only sink Hong Kong into a meaningless political game. False political protests cannot solve the problem at all. They will only cause society to lose focus and miss the opportunity for reform.
Before the government announced the adjournment of the Legislative Council election, at least 12 pan-democratic candidates were DQ, including some current legislators and district councillors. The government clearly drew five red lines. For the protesters who made clear that the parliament was a stage of political confrontation, this result could be described as "seeking benevolence and gaining benevolence." For traditional democrats, especially many candidates were DQ For the Civic Party of China, this is a question of the soul—whether to return to rationality and continue to promote social reforms in the parliament, or to follow the trend and be further led to the astray of no way out. This time, the DQ may not mean that you can no longer sign up for election in a year, but if you choose to continue working in the parliament, you must be determined to cut off the seats with "speculation" and "brave force", and no longer trample on the political red line, especially to respect the fundamentals of "one country, two systems" in principle.
The rejection of the protesters' candidates does not mean that Hong Kong no longer needs political disputes or elections. In fact, many things in Hong Kong are in urgent need of reform and must be discussed in detail in Parliament. It's just that society has been robbed by unrealistic political imaginations, wasting energy on meaningless political disputes like "pouring money into the sea," and letting the truly important and need-solving problems "sustain". In the past, social elites and middle-class representatives were influenced by Anglo-American liberalism and mistakenly believed that "Hong Kong people are prosperous and have higher pursuits." They turned a blind eye to the economic injustice suffered by most people in society; now, under the influence of the epidemic and the Sino-US struggle, The ugly side of this kind of injustice is completely exposed to people, do they still have "leisure feelings" talking about it?
Some people who were originally comfortable may suddenly face the blow of unemployment, not to mention the disadvantaged grassroots who bear the brunt. They lack the ability to protect themselves and are given unpaid leave. Meals on the roadside. Hong Kong people should understand that Hong Kong's economic and social structure is not as strong as some people have said, and the distribution of economy and people's livelihood is the cornerstone that truly affects the lives of every Hong Kong citizen. Hong Kong’s industrial and distribution structure is distorted, and reforms are urgently needed. The disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong stems from the government’s failure to reform the structure of vested interests. Public policies have never been correct. These have been overshadowed by political quarrels in the past, but they really dominate Hong Kong people. Daily life and well-being. It can be summed up as a simple question: Are we spending our energy to continue the delusion of "Hong Kong independence", promoting populism and meaningless resistance, or focusing on improving people's livelihood and allowing Hong Kong people to live and work in peace?
"Hong Kong 01" never considers ideas such as "self-determination" and "Hong Kong independence" to be the way out for Hong Kong. (Data Picture/Reuters)
Seize the opportunity to gather consensus, adjust the direction and implement reform
The election was postponed for one year. "The words are not long, and the words are short." It is said that a year is long, but it is impossible to solve the many deep-seated structural contradictions in Hong Kong; it is said that this year is short, but it is enough to adjust the direction, initiate reforms, re-consolidate social consensus, strictly urge the government to take responsibility, and earnestly change the heart of the people Turn it into a driving force for reform and promote various measures.
How much meaning a year can have depends on what the society is doing subjectively, and politicians especially should not waste time. Public opinion ridicules that postponing the election is the government's "not to leave" in repaying the establishment. However, if the establishment party continues to be aggressive and does not propose a persuasive blueprint for reform, even if voters calm down after a year, they may not vote for them. It may even lose more supporters. Similarly, whether the democrats can put aside their false line of resistance and return to the "one country, two systems" framework to promote reforms this year, proves that in addition to clamoring beautiful slogans and following the mass sentiments instigated by the protesters, they are more capable of changing society. Your imagination and strategy?
As for the SAR government, it is believed that many citizens no longer have expectations for it. If a group of senior officials fail to prove that they are truly awakened in the next year, not only will they see the citizens express their opinions by voting in September next year, but the public sentiment is also afraid. Deteriorating again, new turbulence will be triggered at any time.
Let us boldly imagine that if 1 million people take to the streets or attack the government headquarters and strive to reform housing and retirement protection policies, rather than "Hong Kong independence" and the "Five Aspirations", can the central government use the "Hong Kong National Security Law" "response? Or the officials and civil servants who were liquidated at the time will be the corpse-position vegetarian meal. Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the high-ranking officials have no choice but to learn from the pain, respond to the eager voice of society for change, and vigorously promote reform; if they continue to serve as an umbrella for vested interests, they will only continue to be attacked, even radicalized, regardless of any excuses. Eliminated in politics.
Legislative Council elections should be postponed for one year
Democrats should recognize the red line drawn by DQ
The form of voting in the Legislative Council is about election fairness
View more weekly articles:【01 Weekly Special Page】
Please pay attention to the 225th issue of "Hong Kong 01" Weekly News published on August 3, which is available at major newsstands, OK convenience stores and Vango convenience stores.
You can also click here to sample the weekly newsletter and read more in-depth reports.
Legislative Council Legislative Council Election Legislative Council Election 202001 Views New Coronary Pneumonia Hong Kong One Country Two Systems