White paper underlines Hong Kong’s healthy shift away from Western-style democracy

It was not until Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty that its democratic development truly began
With Beijing’s support, Hong Kong is developing a democratic system that suits its circumstances

Wang Zhenmin

Published: 6:45am, 23 Dec 2021

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The general election for the seventh-term Legislative Council of Hong Kong took place last Sunday, signifying the development of Hong Kong’s democracy under the improved electoral system.

The white paper titled “Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems”, released by the central government on Monday, further reveals the real picture of Hong Kong’s political development.

It shows that the Communist Party and the Chinese government support the development of democracy in Hong Kong, while those who chant democracy slogans – but at the same time are acting against China and destabilising Hong Kong – in fact undermine Hong Kong’s democratic development.

As we all know, before returning to China in 1997, Hong Kong was under British colonial rule for a long time. The nature of colonial rule meant that there was no democracy in Hong Kong.

The colonial governor was never elected by Hong Kong residents. It was not until Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty that Hongkongers became the masters of their own affairs and began to enjoy genuine democracy and a high degree of autonomy.

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How does Hong Kong select its government?

When the “one country, two systems” policy was proposed back in the early 1980s, the Chinese government had already drawn up a blueprint for democracy in Hong Kong for after its return to the motherland.

In addition, China stipulated the goal of universal suffrage for the election of the chief executive and legislature in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which was not included in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The central government has taken significant steps to advance democracy in Hong Kong. They demonstrate that it is the motherland that created and advances Hong Kong’s democratic system.

In recent years, some local groups have colluded with foreign forces to pursue their anti-China agenda and create chaos in Hong Kong. In the name of democracy, they initiated a series of actions including the illegal Occupy Central movement and the Mong Kok riot, interrupting the process of realising universal suffrage for the election of the chief executive and the legislature.

Due to the 2019 turmoil, the House Committee of the sixth Legislative Council was unable to function for more than six months in the 2019-2020 legislative session. As a result, a total of 14 bills could not be scrutinised and followed up in time, and bills dealing with matters such as improving welfare for local residents and vulnerable communities failed to pass.

The central government took important measures to end the violence and chaos, and restored order in Hong Kong.

02:34

China’s top legislative body passes sweeping Hong Kong electoral reforms

By making elections more broadly representative, politically inclusive, ensuring balanced participation, guaranteeing fair competition, and focusing on candidates’ policy agendas and capabilities, the central government also pushed for Hong Kong to shift from Western-style democracy – characterised by confrontation and vicious competition – to a democracy that suits the region and with its own characteristics.

All of this shows it is the motherland that has restored and upheld democracy in Hong Kong.

Recently, some Western governments and politicians have tried to attack Hong Kong’s new democratic system. Those who never practised democracy in Hong Kong have attempted to act as the masters of Hong Kong and make decisions for Hong Kong people in the name of “democracy” – what an irony.

The course of Hong Kong’s democracy has shown that the Communist Party and Chinese government have always firmly supported Hong Kong in developing a democracy with its own characteristics. With the implementation of a series of major measures, such as the Hong Kong national security law and the principle of “patriots governing Hong Kong”, I believe Hong Kong is embracing a better future with improved governance.

Wang Zhenmin is head of the Institute of State Governance and director of the Center for Hong Kong and Macau Studies at Tsinghua University