Advertisement

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

Reading Time:4 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
63
Beijing renewed its universal suffrage pledge as votes were being counted for the December 19 Legco poll. Photo: Felix Wong
A Beijing white paper renewing its pledge to pursue the ultimate goal of electing Hong Kong’s leader and legislature by universal suffrage has sparked debate over one question: is it just a token gesture or a genuine commitment towards full democracy?
Advertisement
A former minister and the only non-establishment candidate returned in Sunday’s Legislative Council election saw it as a positive sign, saying it opened a window to attaining the goal stated in the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

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.

Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, former secretary for transport and housing, said Beijing had never thought of abandoning the ultimate goal of electing the chief executive and all lawmakers by “one person, one vote” even after the Occupy protests in 2014 and the anti-government protests of 2019.

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.

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement