Beijing, not Occupy, threatens the rule of law, says Canadian think tank
Institute behind economic freedom index says city's top spot is at risk
The erosion of Hong Kong's rule of law in the face of Beijing's growing influence could harm the city's competitiveness and impinge on its status as the world's freest economy, a prestigious Canadian think tank says.
The Fraser Institute has consistently ranked Hong Kong top in its Economic Freedom of the World index. But the city's justice chief warned earlier this year that the ranking was at risk if citizens failed to accept the government's stance on political reform.
However, Fred McMahon, a resident fellow at the institute, said encroachment from Beijing would harm the rule of law.
"Non-violent civil disobedience has been used by many people so many times to gain rights and push forward the course of freedom," McMahon said in Hong Kong. Politicians and some lawyers had said the protesters were damaging the rule of law by defying court orders to leave.
McMahon cited Beijing's restrictions on political reform as a bigger concern. The central government ruled that the city's first elected leader in 2017 would have to be chosen from a shortlist decided by a nominating committee dominated by its loyalists.
"My concern is much longer term … [that] China begins to have control over the selection of chief executive. It will, over the long term, give them control over the appointment of judges and thus the rule of law," McMahon said. "If the Chinese government [controls] the chief executive, you could probably start seeing significant deterioration [in the rule of law] in five to 10 years."
