Regina Ip

Opinion | Radicals have put Hong Kong’s democratic system on the path to destruction. Can it be saved?

Is more democracy the answer to Hong Kong’s problems? Democracy does not work when the executive and legislative branches are in deadlock: worryingly, some pan-democrats are threatening to block all bills if they win a majority in September

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor arrives at the Legislative Council to deliver her annual policy address, as lawmakers shout in protest, on October 16, 2019. Photo: Reuters

Regina Ip

Published: 7:00am, 5 Apr 2020Updated: 7:00am, 5 Apr 2020

Hong Kong got its first taste of democracy in the 1980s when, riding on a wave of optimism about “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong”, as promised by China’s leaders, Basic Law advisers and drafters went about devising a democratic system for Hong Kong that could survive under Chinese sovereignty.

Meetings and discussions on Hong Kong’s political system were held feverishly, as though at a constitutional convention. Eventually, Beijing agreed to give Hong Kong people a chance to elect their chief executive and legislature by the “ultimate aim” of universal suffrage, with caveats to ensure orderly progress and Chinese control.

The conflict between the core values embraced by a democratic system – the central importance of individual rights, freedoms and happiness – and those embodied by China’s age-old authoritarian system – collectivism, discipline and control – was never resolved.

But with time running out, fundamental issues requiring continuous, cool-headed discussion were swept under the carpet. In July 1997, Hong Kong stood ready to welcome the birth of a new era.

Some Hong Kong elites can be forgiven for their obstinate insistence on democracy. Democratic powers saved the world from near-annihilation by the Axis Powers in the second world war. Democracy is seen as the political system that can deliver prosperity and stability, and generally regarded as a cleaner, more transparent, accountable and self-restraining form of government.

In Hong Kong, in the run-up to its return to China, democracy also cloaked the hidden agenda in some quarters of using “People Power” as a check on the perceived unfettered power of China.