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Written by: Huang Yunna
2021-02-26 07:30
The last update date: 2021-02-26 07:30
After President Xi Jinping proposed last month that "patriots govern Hong Kong" is the key to ensuring the stability of "one country, two systems", Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, attended the online seminar of the National Hong Kong and Macao Research Association a few days ago (February 22). Set the tone for the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong" and clearly stated the need to improve the electoral system in this regard.
Some democrats worry that the relevant standards may make them "annihilated." However, Lin Zhaohui, who attended the seminar and spoke on behalf of Hong Kong experts, disagreed with the Psychological Affairs of Beijing, Hong Kong and Macao Scholars Research Center. Instead, he believed that the reform was to break the tradition and use consciousness. Form-led political confrontation, that is, no longer distinguishing political forces with "establishment vs. pan-people", is expected to enable the parliament to establish a pragmatic political ecology that promotes good governance and good governance.
The rise of radical forces caused the parliament to be shut down at every turn, and the central government had to correct its roots and reshape Hong Kong's political rules.
(Data Picture/Photographed by Jiang Zhiqian)
In his speech, Xia Baolong said that "patriots ruling Hong Kong" is the minimum standard for "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong", but the relevant principles have not yet been fully implemented. This has caused many anti-China chaos in Hong Kong to "make waves and take the lead", so they must The original is clear.
Regarding what is meant by a "patriot", he mentioned that some people "claim to support one country, two systems" but "against the Communist Party of China" are self-contradictory. He also emphasized that as long as patriots and Hong Kong patriots can draw a clear line between anti-China and Hong Kong elements, the central government will still tolerate them Actively participate in the governance of Hong Kong.
However, the interpretation of the pan-democrats is relatively pessimistic, and they are generally worried that "patriots and not the party" will not be able to enter politics after the electoral reform. In this regard, one of the 14 experts who spoke at the seminar, Beijing, Hong Kong and Macao Scholars Research Center Lin Zhaohui Put forward a completely different statement.
Lin Zhaohui believes that reforming the current electoral system based on the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong" will be more beneficial to politicians who can uphold "Greater China" and "peace and justice," such as moderate pan-democracy and enlightened institutions, which may even prompt the parliament to break Traditional politics is divided into three parts.
He analyzed that one of the main reasons for the central government’s revision of the electoral system is that political opposition led by radical forces has long hindered the normal operation of the executive and legislature, resulting in Hong Kong’s failure to reach a consensus on economic and livelihood policies and the direction of social development. If radical forces can be prevented When power enters the governance structure, it is expected to reshape the political ecology of pragmatic politics, so that the parliament can maintain the vitality that can promote good governance and good governance, and can self-correct various governance problems in Hong Kong.
Lin Zhaohui believes that the Central Committee’s determination to amend the Hong Kong election system is to keep the parliament alive and self-correction of governance problems.
(Profile picture)
Lin Chaohui, who has studied Hong Kong's political issues for 10 years, was one of the five Hong Kong experts who spoke at the seminar and proposed the need to modify the Legislative Council election system.
First of all, today’s fragmentation and radicalization of parliament, and even the political tearing of Hong Kong society, are closely related to the 30 years of purely ideological-led electoral politics, making society simple to treat one country, two systems, the central government, and the SAR government. Spectrum cannot focus on resource allocation and economic development at all, and the organization that represents them and the pan-people cannot come up with a decent platform and debate in the parliament. As a result, deep-seated contradictions have never been properly resolved, and the public is not clear about the future development direction. .
Secondly, the formation of this electoral culture is not unrelated to the "proportional representation" and "maximum balance method" adopted in the Legislative Council elections. Although they are beneficial to small parties to obtain seats, they also encourage radical forces and minority political groups in disguise. The emergence, as a result, not only hinders the development of moderate forces, but also increases the difficulty of the government's lobbying work, making the relationship between the executive and the legislative tense.
Hong Kong has severe social problems and stagnant economic development, but it has never been able to improve through parliamentary politics.
(Xinhua News Agency)
Lin Zhaohui therefore suggested three major reform directions, hoping to reject radical forces, increase pragmatic voices, and improve the effectiveness of political discussions.
First, with the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong", the qualification review of candidates and the regulation of political groups should be strengthened.
Lin Zhaohui pointed out that Hong Kong may not be suitable for the implementation of the "Party Law" legislation at present, but it can try to use "eligibility to stand for election" as a breakthrough point to gradually regulate election and political organizations.
For example, in addition to the existing confirmations and pledges of allegiance, a political organization's self-examination procedure is added-the Electoral Affairs Office and the Electoral Affairs Commission will amend the "Election Guidelines" to force candidates to declare their "political connections" and then request Relevant political organizations confirm in writing the political loyalty of candidates.
Lin Zhaohui believes that this directly encourages political organizations to conduct internal review in advance, which helps them cultivate party spirit, consolidate party discipline, and improve collective accountability.
Second, in order to correct the "proportional representation system" and the "maximum balance method" in favor of radical forces, the direct election of districts was reclassified from 5 to 8, so that the number of seats per district was maintained at 4 to 5.
Lin Zhaohui explained that if there are more electoral districts and fewer seats, the threshold for election can be raised and the gap in votes can be narrowed.
Take the 2016 Legislative Council General Election as an example. In the Kowloon East constituency with only 5 seats, the threshold for being elected is 20% of the votes. The Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, who was elected first, got 15.7% of the votes. Tan Wenhao also received 13.8% support, the difference between the two support rates is only 2 percentage points; but in the New Territories East with 9 seats, the threshold for election is only 11.1%, and the DAB Ge Peifan and the Social People Lian Liang Guoxiong, who have the least support, They obtained 10.1% and 6.1% of the votes respectively. The difference in support between the two is a full 4 percentage points, and the acceptance is obviously different.
Lin Zhaohui believes that by then voters will tend to support relatively stable and medium-sized parties, rather than vote for niche radical forces with a lower chance of winning.
The fragmentation and radicalization of parliament today, and even the political tearing of Hong Kong society, are closely related to the 30 years of purely ideological-led electoral politics.
(Profile picture)
Third, cancel the "one person, two votes" approach, but retain the spirit of "one person, two votes", and change the 6 seats related to district councils in functional constituencies to "non-regional proportional representation" similar to Taiwan or Germany. The "system" is created, that is, the seats are allocated according to the ratio of votes obtained by the political organization to which the candidates belong.
Lin Zhaohui pointed out that "one person, two votes" derives "strategic voting", leading to "personality split" in some voters. They clearly support moderate parties in the "super district council", but they vote for radical forces in direct elections in the region. There are lone wolves in the parliament and there are many small parties, so it needs to be improved. The vote counting method he suggested not only unifies the wishes of the voters, but also relieves the party representatives from the pressure to please the voters at all times, so that they can look at long-term policies.
Lin Zhaohui wrote in a newspaper at the end of last year, "Why Is It Hard to Have a Centrist in Hong Kong?"
"The article pointedly pointed out that the current electoral system does not allow the intermediate forces to enter the parliament, and the intermediate forces have not been able to precipitate and improve political and economic discourse due to lack of opportunities to participate in politics. They are sometimes misunderstood as a vague position and cannot win the people's trust.
He believes that the election reform plan proposed to the central government this time is expected to create a group of reform forces that can maintain effective communication with the central government, surpass existing vested interest groups, and seek truth from facts to promote fairness and justice, so that the effectiveness of parliament will remain fresh and ongoing. Self-renewal, not just the only way to follow.
One country, two systems, patriots ruling Hong Kong, the Legislative Council elected Hong Kong and Macau Office Xia Baolong, Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong