Token gesture or genuine resolve? Beijing’s fresh vow to pursue universal suffrage in Hong Kong sparks debate
- Only non-establishment candidate to win Legco seat in Sunday’s poll among those saying Beijing white paper is positive step towards full democracy
- Central government this week renewed its pledge to strive for the election of Hong Kong leader, lawmakers by universal suffrage
Tik Chi-yuen, who beat his rivals in the social welfare functional constituency, pledged to initiate a motion in the legislature calling for a relaunch of constitutional reform within 100 days of him being sworn-in as lawmaker on January 3.
Cheung, a political scientist by profession and a former vice-chairman of the opposition Democratic Party, said Beijing should be more comfortable with allowing Hongkongers to elect the chief executive and all lawmakers by universal suffrage in future after the introduction of a vetting mechanism to ensure all candidates in elections were “patriots”.
A total of 153 Legco hopefuls passed the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee’s vetting process and were cleared to run in Sunday’s election.
“The central government should have its mind set at ease after the overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system,” Cheung said in an interview with the Post on Tuesday.