The State Council Information Office yesterday (20th) published a white paper entitled "Democratic Development in Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems"". The full text is over 26,000 words. Hong Kong's position on democratic development.
The sixth part mentioned the bright prospects for the development of democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and reiterated that we must firmly follow the path of democratic development that conforms to the actual conditions of Hong Kong.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also mentioned when meeting with reporters yesterday that the last part of the "White Paper" (the sixth part) stated that Hong Kong has returned to the right track of "One Country, Two Systems", which can ensure that Hong Kong's future democratic process will be certain after "patriots govern Hong Kong." It has a bright future.
However, Liu Zhaojia, the vice chairman of the National Hong Kong and Macau Research Association, believes that it is too early to say that the "White Paper" will "give the green light" to the future political reform of Hong Kong, because he believes that the new electoral system still needs to operate and consolidate for a period of time, including the development of people’s livelihood issues. Only by allowing society to adapt to the new system can we continue to discuss political reforms.
In particular, he pointed out that under the new electoral system, the voter turnout rate in direct elections for the first legislative council elections was a record low, and he questioned whether the current social atmosphere is suitable for discussing political reforms.
The goal of double universal suffrage in Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law has always been an unresolved political problem in Hong Kong.
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"White Paper": "One Country, Two Systems" Provides Fundamental Guarantee for Hong Kong's Democratic Development
When the National People's Congress implemented changes to the Hong Kong electoral system in March this year, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, mentioned that nothing has changed in the Basic Law, including the goal of double universal suffrage in Articles 45 and 68.
Therefore, legally, the 2014 National People's Congress "8.31" framework still exists.
The latest "White Paper" mentioned that "One Country, Two Systems" provides a fundamental guarantee for the democratic development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In the future, it is necessary to act in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, correctly handle the relationship between the central government and the special administrative region, and resolutely implement the principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong". Resolutely follow the path of democratic development that suits Hong Kong's actual conditions.
Among them, the article mentioned that Hong Kong’s democratic development needs to adhere to the leadership of the central government and make progress in a gradual and orderly manner in accordance with the law.
The State Council Information Office published the white paper "Hong Kong's Democratic Development under "One Country, Two Systems"".
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The existing election committee becomes the universal suffrage nomination committee?
Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor actively mentioned when meeting reporters: "I am even more encouraged by this "White Paper". The last part shows that Hong Kong has returned to the right track of "One Country, Two Systems". We also have a complete electoral system. To ensure that "patriots govern Hong Kong", Hong Kong's future democratic process must have a bright future."
She specifically mentioned that the well-established electoral system has a 1,500-member election committee, which is divided into five major sectors and is widely representative. "To a certain extent, it is very consistent with the framework decided by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on August 31, 2014. Therefore, as long as we continue on this correct track, when the new term of the Legislative Council takes office, it will show that under the perfect electoral system, the executive and the legislature can interact constructively and do practical things for the people of Hong Kong. I believe that the Chief Executive shall be elected by universal elections. The goal will be achieved, and it may not take a long time to achieve."
In fact, many politicians had already discussed before the introduction of the new election system. Now that the electoral system has been perfected and the safety factor has greatly increased, whether the next government has a suitable opportunity to discuss political reform.
When attending a forum last month, the Deputy Director of the Basic Law Committee Tan Huizhu mentioned that the current composition of the Election Committee is in full compliance with the composition of the Chief Executive’s Nomination Committee as stated in Article 45 of the Basic Law. The functions of the Election Committee can be changed to the Nomination Committee to meet the requirements of Article 45 for universal suffrage.” This seems to be the foreshadowing of the future political reform framework.
Liu Zhaojia.
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Liu Zhaojia: The public opinion of the Patriots is still not more than half. Low turnout shows that there are not enough conditions
Liu Zhaojia told the reporter of "Hong Kong 01" that it is too early to talk about the future political reform and universal suffrage, because the new system needs a period of time to accumulate experience, evaluate the gains and losses, and consolidate first before being able to discuss the next political reform, but these tasks must be at least It will take a few years to see results.
One of the important tasks is to expand the scale of the "Patriot" camp: "At present, the patriot camp represents less than half of the public opinion. The patriots have control of the political power, but they are not yet capable of grasping the entire political situation. At least we must expand the patriotism first. The public opinion foundation of the author.”
He mentioned that there are still some conflicts among the people regarding the new system. For example, the record-breaking low voter turnout in direct elections just shows that the social construction work has not yet been completed. "The difficulty may not be very high. There will always be more and more opposition supporters. People face reality."
In the long run, Liu Zhaojia also believes that the executive and legislative organs under the new system need to make contributions to the social, economic and people's livelihoods, which is conducive to strengthening the patriots' popular base.
The State Council Issued a White Paper on Hong Kong Democracy: Resolutely Implement the Principle of "Patriots Governing Hong Kong" Beijing White Paper: New Election System Practices Democracy and a New Atmosphere Can Maintain Sovereign Security and Reduce Political Internal Consumption 01 Exclusive | Political development
