During President Xi Jinping's meeting with Chief Executive-designate Li Jiachao today (30th), he mentioned that Hong Kong's new electoral system should be "cherished more and persisted for a long time." Liu Zhaojia, vice-chairman of the National Association for Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said that this statement may make people who demand political reform restart. Disappointed that the issue of political reform will not be on the public agenda for a long time.
Beijing took the initiative to "improve the electoral system" last year, and the threshold for participating in the election has been greatly increased. The mainstream democrats have not participated in the election. Xi Jinping's speech shows that the central government is satisfied with the effectiveness of the new election. In addition, Li Jiachao has stated that political reform is not a priority for the next government. The new system will not change for some time, and the next government has little chance of restarting the political reform.
Some non-establishment people believe that Xi Jinping has not stated that the next government cannot do political reform. They believe that Hong Kong's electoral system keeps pace with the times, continues to open up, and moves towards dual universal suffrage is a national policy. In the current institutional framework, as long as a favorable society is created Conditions, there is still hope for political reform.
Liu Zhaojia: Even if the political reform will not lead to Western-style democratic elections
In his speech, Xi Jinping pointed out that experiments have proved that the new electoral system will play a decisive role in implementing "patriots ruling Hong Kong", ensuring Hong Kong's exercise of the right to be the master of the country over its citizens, and promoting the formation of a good situation in which all social strata and all sectors work together to build Hong Kong. "This is a set of political and democratic systems that conform to the 'one country, two systems' policy, the reality of Hong Kong, and the needs of Hong Kong's development. It must be cherished and upheld for a long time."
Liu Zhaojia analyzed that for the central government, the new electoral system is very important for safeguarding national security, the comprehensive and accurate practice of "one country, two systems", "patriots ruling Hong Kong" and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, so it must be maintained for a long time, "for those who demand the resumption of politics. For those who reform, they must be disappointed.” He expects that the political reform issue that has plagued Hong Kong for a long time will no longer appear on the public agenda for a long time.
"Even if Hong Kong's electoral system needs to be changed in the future, it will be to better strengthen, develop, and unite patriotic forces, and to make "patriots ruling Hong Kong" more stable and powerful, rather than adopting a Western-style democratic electoral system .
After the electoral system was revised last year, none of the major pan-democratic parties, including the Democratic Party, participated in the Legislative Council election. In the sluggish political atmosphere, the final direct election voter turnout also hit a new low of 30.2%.
Political circles, especially non-establishment factions, are concerned that since the current political situation has stabilized and the "anti-China chaos in Hong Kong" forces of the past are no longer viable, is there room to further open up the electoral system and increase the willingness of democrats to run for election?
Di Zhiyuan: There is still room to promote electoral diversity within the existing framework
Di Zhiyuan, chairman of New Thinking and a member of the Legislative Council, pointed out that the white paper "Democratic Development of Hong Kong under "One Country, Two Systems" released by the State Council last year reaffirmed the goal of moving towards dual universal suffrage. Xi Jinping's statement this time is to praise the new system for bringing stability. Contribute to the development of the economy and people's livelihood.
He believes that as long as there are good signs for Hong Kong's future development and the people's livelihood, economic and political situation are stable, a sufficient foundation for democratic development will be created. I believe that President Xi hopes that Hong Kong will develop democracy under favorable conditions, and he has not denied political reform. This condition may appear in two or three years, but it may not be possible in the next term.”
Di Zhiyuan believes that Xi Jinping said that he will "cherish it more and insist on it for a long time", and he refers to a constitutional framework, that is, "patriots ruling Hong Kong". Under this premise, there must be room to continue to revise and improve the existing system, Continuing to move towards democracy will also help increase the diversity of future elections. "It is not expected that the development of democracy will be achieved in one step, but there must always be a path. The society must have space for discussion and create consensus." He said that he will continue to Members of the Legislative Council proposed a motion to restart the political reform, but since the current government is about to expire, I personally prefer to propose it after the next government takes office.
Liao Chengli, chairman of the ADPL, said that last year's white paper had stated that promoting Hong Kong's democratization was the national policy, and the commitment remained unchanged. Last year, the central government's "improvement of the electoral system" was a starting point. In the future, it needs to continue to develop and review according to the actual situation. Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law promise to move towards dual universal suffrage, and under the guiding principle of "patriots ruling Hong Kong", there is certainly room for continuous updating of the existing system.
Democratic Party Chairman Luo Jianxi said there was no response to the issue.
The ultimate goal of dual universal suffrage under the Basic Law has always been a topic of considerable concern to the Hong Kong society.
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A senior pro-establishment faction said that the central government has repeatedly removed the political obstacles in Hong Kong. The next step is to solve the deep-seated contradictions in society and do practical things for the people. If the political reform is repeated in the next few years, it will only continue to cause internal friction and division in the society. Will be shelved.
He believes that Xi Jinping's emphasis on "persisting for a long time" in the new electoral system means that the general framework will not change, "patriots ruling Hong Kong" is an inevitable requirement, and the nomination entry threshold will not be changed rashly. Will it be maintained in the next Legislative Council election, will I never run for election?
It would be unrealistic to hope that the electoral system will be relaxed next time because of social stability.
Another establishment person pointed out that the improvement of the electoral system has not changed the goal of implementing dual universal suffrage, and the relevant provisions of the Basic Law still exist, but the development of democracy with Hong Kong characteristics must be carried out in a "lawful and orderly manner", and the maintenance of national security should be given a more prominent priority. Location, it can be expected that the national security problem will not disappear for a day, and it will be difficult to achieve dual universal suffrage in the short term.
Li Jiachao's official media visit hopes to win trust with the result: every day to solve a problem, there are 365 people in a year Xi Jinping pointed out that the new election system must be adhered to for a long time will not change