Political situation
Written by: Lin Jian, Chen Jialuo
2020-09-21 07:00
Last update date: 2020-09-21 07:00
Speaking of Liao Changjiang, "low-key" is almost synonymous with him. The top ten legislative council members or members of the executive council have rarely seen him on the list. But as the "squad leader" of the legislative council establishment, Liao Changjiang's role is very important.
The government and the establishment are a community of shared destiny, but a turmoil of legislative amendments has brought the contradiction between the two to appear. Liao Changjiang, who wanders between the executive and the legislature, accepts an interview with "Hong Kong 01", and rarely talks about the role of the establishment.
Liao Changjiang said that the establishment has never blindly supported the government, but "is what is right, not what is wrong", pointing out the government's problems and improving governance.
However, he admitted that the role of this monitoring will become less and less space as political conflicts heat up, because the establishment must support the government on political issues of right and wrong in order to maintain the effective operation of the SAR constitution.
He bluntly said that even if the establishment criticizes the government so harshly, the role of identity will never change: "You (the establishment) can never be separated from the government."
As for the chief executive without a political party background, it is difficult to have an "iron vote" in the Legislative Council. Liao Changjiang said frankly that it is difficult to resolve. This is related to China's overall constitutional system.
He believes that to improve this situation, there is a very difficult prerequisite, which involves the future development of the cross-strait situation...
(Interview 2 of 2)
Interview｜Panmin go to stay and rely on the poll Liao Changjiang: still holding the pipa half-hidden to get rid of radical bondage
Claiming to be "run errands" by the establishment, the Legislative Council needs more Ho Junyao?
As the "squad leader" of the establishment, that is, the coordinator, outsiders may think that it is "highly in power." However, Liao Changjiang categorically stated that the "establishment" is not a political party. There are many different spectrums: "the establishment also has six Apart from political issues of right and wrong, we will not have a complete and unified ideology.” Liao Changjiangqian said he was just "running errands" and was responsible for communicating and coordinating with different establishments, and he believed in establishments. In the end, all members of the faction focused on the overall situation, especially after the legislative amendments last year, he felt that the unity of the establishment has increased and he did not need to worry too much.
Liao Changjiang joined the Legislative Council in 2012 following the business sector (second). He began serving as a "squad leader" four years ago. He is used to coordinating and directing the overall situation behind his back, which is the opposite of those who like to fight for exposure and be on TV.
Asked him which of the establishment members was more "difficult", Liao Changjiang said, as long as it does not affect the reputation and cooperation of the overall establishment, there is no need to intervene at all.
Even He Junyao, who is in good position in his words and deeds, said that there is no problem with the communication with the other party: "He Junyao is an elected member, has his own position and direction, and is responsible for his words and deeds. Based on the principle of mutual respect, I can't handle it."
Regarding He Junyao who said in a rally that he would "kill without mercy" for those who proposed "Hong Kong independence," the democrats filed a motion to condemn him. Liao Changjiang thought it was just a fuss: "No one thinks he will really kill people."
Instead, Liao Changjiang described that He Junyao made up for the "firepower" that the establishment lacked in the past to a certain extent: "Each camp has its own "heavy artillery". The former pan-people include Chang Mao (Liang Guoxiong), Chen Weiye, and Huang Yumin. Heavy artillery is a must. Weapons, we (the establishment) will no longer "hit and bluff" in the parliament as before. You will see Zhou Haoding, Lu Songxiong, and even Jiang Liyun, all of which have different methods to refute the other party's insults. In this regard, He Junyao has his own way of working, but I also think that he is one of the heavy gunners of our establishment."
Liao Changjiang pointed out that although He Junyao has a very personal style, he can be regarded as one of the heavy gunners of the establishment.
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The role of abnormal parliament formation is inevitably restricted
When it comes to the establishment, the democrats will hold high the role of "monitoring" and criticize the establishment to support the government. The criticism may also be "small scolding and big help," and they will "return to the team" at critical moments.
Liao Changjiang retorted that as a member of the establishment legislature, he has the responsibility to ensure the effective operation of the constitutional system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and to support the SAR government in governing in accordance with the law. In the Legislative Council, the government will ultimately rely on the establishment’s support to pass the bill.
In a normal political system, if the government does not have votes in the parliament, it will be "dead."
He pointed out that what the establishment has always hoped to achieve is to strike a balance, not to blindly support the government, but also to ensure the effective operation of the constitution: "Our establishment has better knowledge than the pan-people and better international vision. Now, how can we blindly support it?" He emphasized that the establishment will of course support the government on major issues of right and wrong, such as combating "Hong Kong Independence," "Co-location Two Inspections," and the "National Anthem Law", but at the same time they will also " It is right, nothing is wrong," and it plays the role of monitoring.
However, Liao Changjiang admitted that this attitude of the establishment is quite affected by the political environment in Hong Kong: when the political atmosphere is still normal and the rags are not that serious, the establishment has more room to deal with the government, and some people’s livelihood policies are like yuan. Lang's 1.7 billion "sky" footbridge, raising the threshold for elderly CSSA, and diversion of the three tunnels, were eventually put on hold by the government under the pressure of the establishment.
On the contrary, when the political atmosphere becomes clear-cut and serious, the role of the establishment to monitor the government will inevitably be restricted, because from a political perspective, the establishment needs to support the government after all. When the political stand is first, the establishment is even more important. It is not possible to contradict the government, and it is even difficult to speak several times in the meeting.
When it comes to the role of the establishment, Liao Changjiang believes that they will try their best to do what is right and what is wrong.
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Recalling the "fugitive offenders Ordinance" controversy: reminded the government more than once
This leads to a more core question: the establishment must support the government on major non-political issues, otherwise the entire SAR system will be difficult to operate. However, when the issue involves political disputes and the government has committed serious technical errors, will the establishment also support the government? Forced to support the government and cannot be corrected?
Regarding this issue, the controversy over the revision of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance last year can be regarded as an obvious case: the ordinance itself has huge political controversy, and the government’s skill in dealing with democrats’ doubts was accused of being poor. The two revisions failed to quell popular anger, and finally detonated the largest politics since the return. crisis.
A year later, Liao Changjiang thought from beginning to end that the amendment itself was "no harm" and was not as serious as the democrats' interpretations. He even thought that the controversy would be lower than that of "two inspections in one place", but the democrats were good at "trafficking." "Fear", and the first legislative amendments happened to be "gambling". "Hong Kong has (extradition arrangements) for many countries. Why can't it be for my own country?" However, he agreed that the government has done poorly in its propaganda work. , Often led by the democrats: "(The government) has completely fallen into the opposition’s narrative (narrative perspective) and is on a passive defensive position, but it is clear that the government should take the initiative first, make clear explanations, and seize the dominance of public opinion." After the government revised the contents of the regulations for the second time at the end of May, Liao Changjiang stated that most of the establishments that had reservations about the amendments had actually "received goods."
But just like the line of the movie "Tian Neng": what happened is what happened.
The government was unable to meet the demands of the people. Hundreds of thousands of citizens took to the streets on June 9 last year to oppose the amendment (the FDC said 1.03 million), but the government issued a statement that night insisting on resuming the second reading as scheduled on June 12, detonating a 6.12 escalation demonstration .
On June 15, the government announced that it would postpone the amendment, but the controversy has spread to police enforcement issues.
Many politicians have lamented that if the government could gain insight into the crisis earlier on the crucial day of June 9, the entire storm could be avoided.
Ye Liu Shuyi, chairman of the New Democrat Party, who is also a member of the guild, said in an interview that in June he asked the government if it would back down. The government said it would not, but the government announced the suspension soon, feeling that he was "stucked."
Regarding the discussion of the guild members, Liao Changjiang stated that he could not go into details, but he revealed that he had reminded the government of the risks more than once before and after the demonstration on June 9th, and the response he received was that "the government will not withdraw the amendment."
He pointed out that the responsibility of reminding has been exhausted, and the government will finally decide and bear the consequences. "The only thing you can do is to tell the government to "let go". It is they who decide to let go. Hong Kong is always the executive-led, not the legislative-led. I As a councillor, the responsibility is to remind."
▼The dispute process of the Fugitives Regulations▼
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"The establishment cannot separate from the government"
But no matter what, the most direct result of the government's "self-destruction" is that the citizens angered the establishment, which suffered a historic defeat in the district council elections at the end of last year.
When Lam Cheng took office, he threatened to do a good job of governance and "distribute dividends" to the establishment. The result was quite different. In addition, the Legislative Council elections have come. Some establishment parties often have to maintain "social distance" from the government and join the ranks of criticism. Restore the support of voters.
However, Liao Changjiang said frankly that the establishment is the establishment after all, and some identities are established and cannot be changed: "For example, if the DAB comes out, will everyone think they are not the establishment? The central government requires the establishment to support the SAR government in governing according to law. How do you respond? How do you cut the seat? The government has introduced some laws that are controversial but big and wrong. Can you ultimately support it? Can you support the Budget? Even if it is not requested by others, we are in philosophy Also support (smooth governance).” Therefore, he believes that the so-called "separation" of the establishment and the government cannot be achieved. At most, it can be said that "doing a good job is a right or wrong role."
"Unless Taiwan returns, there will be no ruling party in Hong Kong."
This will return to the fundamental system problem.
Limited by the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, the chief executive cannot have a political party background, and there is no fixed source of votes in the Legislative Council. As a result, the government "has no votes."
In this case, the government does not have the authorization of public opinion and must rely on the votes of the establishment to support the policy. However, when the government makes a mistake, the establishment does not dare to get too close to the government, and it seems difficult to govern.
The issue of the implementation of party politics has been mentioned many times since the reunification. Some commentators believe that when a ruling party appears in Hong Kong, a certain public opinion base and a certain number of votes in the Legislative Council can make governance smooth, and the establishment has a chance to govern, perhaps less Some contradictions and embarrassments of "baking support".
However, Liao Changjiang, who is also a representative of the Hong Kong People’s Congress, believes that allowing the chief executive to have a political party background is not just a matter of law, but also involves the overall constitution of China. The preamble of the "Chinese Constitution" states that the People's Republic of China implements the "Leadership of the Communist Party of China". Multi-party cooperation and political consultation system."
Liao Changjiang pointed out: "Will the central government allow another ruling party to appear in its own place? Even if the central government is willing, will it revise the constitution for the Hong Kong issue?"
He mentioned a very difficult premise, that is, "Taiwan accepts the return of the one country, two systems plan."
He explained that Taiwan now has a ruling party. After the reunification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, to make a smooth transition, it may be necessary to amend the constitution to include the content of party politics. By then, Hong Kong's system can be reformed together, but the constitution is amended only for Hong Kong. He thinks there is an opportunity Not big.
Although Hong Kong is an executive-led government, the government has no votes and must rely on the support of the establishment to govern effectively.
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The difference between the patriot and the establishment
Having said so many roles of the establishment, will the establishment always stand on the same line with the government on political issues?
Liu Zhaojia, the vice chairman of the National Society for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said in an interview with Observer that the establishmentists are not necessarily patriots. Some of them have no family and country feelings. The motivation behind the willingness to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party is not to love the country, but because Self-interest.
Liao Changjiang said that he is not sure whether this situation exists, but even if it exists, it may not have a great impact, because "supporting the governance of the Chinese Communist Party" and "supporting the Chinese Communist Party" are two different concepts.
Even if the ideology may not be exactly the same as that of the central government, the constitutional system must be governed by the Communist Party and play a role in stabilizing society. In fact, there is little difference.
"Of course, it does not rule out that some people seem to be the establishment, but they are not so established in their hearts. Some people will do it, some people will not, just keep it in their hearts." Liao Changjiang said that the establishment always has a different spectrum and a degree Of points.
So who has this tendency?
Liao Changjiang smiled, "Of course I won't say."
Liao Changjiang believes that the National Security Law of the Port Area that came into effect on June 30, 2020 has a deterrent effect.
(Photo by the Information Services Department)
Hope "Lantau Tomorrow" to solve the deep-seated contradictions
How the establishment "is what is right and what is not what is wrong?" The preliminary research funding of "Lantau Tomorrow" before us can be verified.
Liao Changjiang said that there was no formal discussion within the establishment as to whether to support it. He knew that some people had reservations, but he believed that Hong Kong’s deep-seated economic, housing, and upper-class opportunities problems needed a stable social situation to effectively resolve them. "Lantau Tomorrow" is A vision spanning two to thirty years to try to solve the problem of land shortage: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you don't do it now, when?"
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