Hong Kong protests won’t force China’s hand over allowing city to become ‘sovereign democracy’, former city leader CY Leung says
- In a speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, former chief executive accuses ‘dark forces’ of being behind anti-government movement
- Hitting out at the West, he says Hong Kong has been an easy proxy and soft target to be used against China
Mass protests even by hundreds of thousands of people will not force China’s hand to grant Hong Kong full autonomy to become a “sovereign democracy”, the city’s former leader said on Thursday.
“I think it’s extremely senseless and irresponsible … to think that by bringing hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Hong Kong, somehow China’s hand can be forced, so that we can have full autonomy without China’s involvement, that we can have a local democracy that has all the hallmarks of a sovereign democracy,” former chief executive Leung Chun-ying said.
Beijing has “reserved powers” under the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, to be involved in the process of selecting Hong Kong’s leader, whatever the method of election, Leung added during a talk at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club. The city could be led by a mayor, he said, but a mayor would then enjoy very limited powers, or the jurisdiction could exist under the current arrangement of a high degree of autonomy. But that power was derived from the additional mandate of the central government, he stressed.
“If we want to have our cake and eat it, by changing to universal suffrage as the method of selecting the chief executive without Beijing’s approval, or electing and then installing the chief executive without giving Beijing the right [to reject], that for all intents and purposes is secession. “The ‘umbrella movement’ in 2014 wanted exactly that. Now, the last of the five demands of the black-clad movement is a repeat of the same,” he said.
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Leung, who in his term faced the Occupy movement, accused the same “dark forces” in 2014 of being behind the ongoing anti-government protests sparked by the now-withdrawn extradition bill.
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“Dark forces in Hong Kong want to force Beijing’s hand. These are not negotiators,” Leung said. “They then, as now, want genuine universal suffrage,” he added, without elaborating further.
In a speech focusing on China’s recent history, Leung set out how he saw its growth over the past 70 years since the founding of the republic had come under repeated criticism from commentators from the West, who were now using Hong Kong to pile pressure on China.
“Hong Kong has been an easy proxy, and a soft target of China. It has been drafted by the West to join the ranks of Xinjiang and Tibet. China has been constantly told what democracy, freedoms and human rights should mean under ‘one country, two systems’,” he said.
Hong Kong has been an easy proxy, and a soft target of China. It has been drafted by the West to join the ranks of Xinjiang and Tibet
During the same session, Leung also said he was not surprised by the pro-democracy camp’s major victory in last Sunday’s district council polls.
Riding on the momentum of the anti-government protests, pan-democrats and independents with the same leanings secured 392 of 452 seats in 18 district councils, while the pro-government camp suffered a setback, winning only 60 seats.
Leung said the recent polls were “highly political” and called on people not to exaggerate the pan-democrats’ gains.
“We know the results, we do not know the consequences,” Leung said.
“I just hope that the democrats and the radical elements in their camp have not bitten off more than they can chew.”
On Tuesday, Leung wrote on his social media account that the pro-establishment camp should fight their opponents’ political issues with action on livelihood and community matters.
Leung also called on people to scrutinise elected candidates for illegal acts, such as unauthorised building works in their homes.
