Democratic self- rule for the people
HONG KONG "constitutional arrangements" are to b naintained, the source of power is no at all challenged, the official and ap pointed members of the Legco are de liberately preserved, and "indirect elec. tion" and "election by functional constituencies" are fostered.
of Hong Kong
HONG KONG is a component of China, and China has gained its independent and autonomous international status after a prolonged and arduous anti-imperialist struggle by the Chi-
IN 1984, the governments of China and Britain signed an agreement to restore Chinese sovereignty to the British colony of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. From that date, Hong
Kong is to become a Special Administrative Region of
China, with a large degree of internal autonomy.
The following is the text of a joint statement on the Hong
Kong government's Green Paper "The 1987 review of developments in representative government" published by
October Review and the Revolutionary Marxist League, from the May/June 1987 issue of October Review.
WE BELIEVE that in ending the colonial rule and returning to China, the Hong Kong masses must promptly build a political system whose power is delegated by the entire population to decide and manage autonomously local affairs of Hong Kong. Only in this way can the democratic self-rule of the Hong
Kong people be realized. Such a democratic political system should be the common goal of struggle of the majority of the Hong Kong masses.
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THE SO-CALLED "development of representative govemment" and the orientation of the "review" launched by the Hong Kong government will not lead to the democratic self-rule of the
Hong Kong people.
In the 1987 Green Paper, though over
30 options concerning the development of the political system are proposed, they are mostly related to how the seats of the advisory bodies (the
Legislative Council and the District
Boards) are to be produced, and how their role and relationships are to be regulated. Crucial questions such as the source of power of the colonial government, the power of the Governor, and the relationship between the Executive
Council and Legislative Council
(Legco), are all put in the forbidden zone. These show that the so-called
"representative government" continues to be an advisory body devoid of power. In fact, the Daya Bay Nuclear Plant project [being built by the Chinese in the face of massive local opposition] and other incidents prove that such a consultative structure carrying certain electoral features is totally incapable of changing the dictatorial and repressive essence of the colonial rule.
WHEN THE Hong Kong government proposed the "representative government" in 1984, it defined a grand goal of developing ernment the authority for which is firmly rooted in Hong Kong". However, it is generally known that firstly, the "root" seen by the British is not the general Hong Kong masses but social forces of the upper strata closely related to it in interests; and secondly, the British will bring about the transfer of power progressively under its control. By the development of the "representative government", the British aim at:
• Alleviating the confrontation between the colonial authority and the awakening masses, so that British capital and the major financial groups can obtain the optimum political and economic interests before sovereignty over Hong Kong is returned to China.
• Progressively transferring power to its agents so that after Britain withdraws from Hong Kong, it can still safeguard its interests by various channels and influence the future development of Hong Kong.
"representative government" to be built and developed by the British in Hong Kong has a colonial flavour and it safeguards the class with established interests. Concrete examples are that the present Green Paper consistently stresses that the colonial nese people. The Chinese people (in particular the Hong Kong people) should not let the British breed a proBritish regime through the «терresentative government". The most effective way to resist the British deployment is to fully expose its intentions, and propose a goal of struggle that is totally different from the British "representative government", that is, to fight for a political system whereby the people are sovereign and to realize the democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people. We consider it the obligation of the Chinese government to assist the Hong Kong people in arriving at this goal.
5 UNFORTUNATELY, the ex-
Listing Chinese government is trying all it can to obstruct the effort of the Hong Kong people in fighting for a democratic political system. This helps the Hong Kong people to come to realize the essence of the Chinese government's policy towards Hong Kong. Now it is obvious that:
• The Chinese government (from its responsible officials, mouthpieces to even the leadership of the so-called "leftist" trade unions) hurriedly stresses that the development of the political system in Hong should "converge" with the Basic Law la future mini-constitution]. Instead of having the Basic Law drawn up by respecting the wish of the Hong Kong people, it requires that they submit to the will of the Chinese authorities.
• Through their mouthpieces, proChina personages explain that the capitalist system is not only to be maintained in prolonged and general terms, but the "status quo" is to be maintained in its immediate and concrete form. This includes:
a) economically, investors will be given all conveniences and safeguards, whereas the livelihood of the labouring masses is totally ignored;
b) politically, the development of the political system will be subordinated to the colonial "constitutional arrangements". This means the so-called observation of the stipulation of the Sino-British Agreement, whereby be- 23 fore 1997 the British "constitutional September 28, 1987 • International Viewpoint
HONG KONG arrangements" with the Governor holding full power will remain in force and no major change will be conducted on the present ruling structure. After 1997, China's sovereignty over Hong Kong will resume in the form of bureaucratic domination, and the democratic rights of the Hong Kong people will be taken away.
Following this logic, some people even consider that "direct election" of the Legco before 1997 will breach the constitution and thus will violate the Sino-British Agreement. They also stress that "the politics of political parties" should be prevented, and direct election will ensue in the "politics of political parties"
• The recent adoption by the Political System Group of the Basic Law Drafting Committee on the relationship and role of the legislative body and the executive body are in fact a reproduc tion of the existing political system.
IT CAN thus be seen that in the eyes of the Chinese authorities, their followers and their advisors, only two factors decide the future of Hong Kong and the development of the political system. The first is the Chinese government's direct intervention and final decision over Hong Kong, and the second (naturally including capitalists willing to cooperate with the Chinese authorities) that in the present or the future control Hong Kong's economic veins through investments. As for the general masses, they should submit to and not confront the interests of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) bureaucrats and the capitalists.
Now, the Chinese authorities and the Hong Kong government both stress that the development of Hong Kong's political system must correspond with the related stipulations of the SinoBritish Agreement. In fact, the Agreement stipulates that Hong Kong will be ruled by the British until 1997, which indicates that the Chinese government recognizes, in a disguised form, that Hong Kong will remain a British colony before 1997, and that this state of affairs corresponds to the interests of the Chinese government.
Thus, the followers of the Chinese authorities not only oppose the Hong Kong people's demand to the British to power to the people, but also stubbornly insist that the British should maintain the colonial constitution, and they go so far as to consider that a consultative system will also violate the Sino-British (From this can also be deduced that the Hong Kong people should not agree to
Sino-British Agreement without
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The Chinese authorities are most worInternational Viewpoint • September 28, 1987 ried that although the "representative government" is a consultative system of fake democracy, it carries the form of the election of certain seats, hence it may stimulate among the masses greater aspirations for democracy, and the masses may gather greater momentum to the point of going beyond the deployments of the British.
In particular, when there is the opportunity of direct election of a central body, the masses may mobilize to further fight for a democratic future that corresponds with the political and economic interests of the masses. mass democratic movement emerges in Hong Kong, the arrangement of the Chinese authorities — the rule of Hong Kong by Beijing officials in conjunc tion with the big capitalists — will be disrupted. On the other hand, this will an important stimulation to the movement for democracy launched by the masses in mainland China. Chinese authorities do not want this.
7 A GENERAL review of the
recent actions of the British and Chinese authorities shows that there exist contradictions but also common interests between them. Their contradiction that each wants the political system in Hong Kong to develop according to its needs. However, they must also avoid any rupture, and must find a solution through secret diplomatic channels.
The British grasp this crucial relationship, and exploit the ruling power in their hands as bargaining counters greater interests from the Chinese authorities. Their common interests lie in diligently safeguarding and strengthening the interests of the privileged who control Hong Kong nomically. They both consider that the function of the political system is to promote, according to the constitution, and those in economic rule. They both consider the masses as the ruled rather than the central force comprising society or the master to exercise sovereignty of the country.
Therefore, before the Chinese authorities intend to generally and directly dominate Hong Kong, the contradictions between them have much room for compromise. On the question of containing the Hong Kong people's dethey take the same path and sound the same tune.
WE APPEAL to the Hong Kong people to note that: the colonialists always view Hong Kong as a place where they seize huge profits to take away; those with more assets view Hong Kong less as their home; the British and Chinese authorities demand that the Hong Kong people submit to the interests of the investors and continue to practise a policy encroaching on the people's livelihood and suppressing democracy. Under such circumstances, only the lower and middle strata, in particular the working class, are the forces that genuinely push Hong Kong forward and lead Hong Kong to a democratic integration with the motherland.
Any policy that encroaches on the people's livelihood will eventually disrupt Hong Kong's economic prosperity and social stability. Thus, Kong people must now rise up to fight for democracy, based on the grassroot masses as the central force. They must express the demand for the democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people when it concerns the review of the political system or the drafting of the Basic Law, and at the same time integrate the demand for democracy with a whole series of demands for improving the people's livelihood. Otherwise, the grassroot masses cannot be mobilized to build a mass democratic movement.
In summary, it is urgent that the masses be generally mobilized to rise and fight for democracy. If the opportunity is lost, the people will continue exploitation of big capitalists, and the future government of Hong Kong will be an extension of the CCP's bur-
eaucratic rule.
AT PRESENT, a wave is rising in Hong Kong demanding directly elected seats in the Legco in 1988. This is stubbornly opposed by the Chinese authorities and their followers. We believe that from the angle of breaking the monopoly of power of the rulers and fighting for the right of the people's representatives to speak in a central consultative body, the fight for directly elected seats in the Legco has its positive meaning. Under the present conditions, where the people's political rights are deprived and the rulers suppress all democratic demands, the struggle insisting on direct election of the Legco in 1988 can objectively break the suppression of the rulers and promote the development of the democratic movement. Thus, we support the struggle for direct election of the Legco in 1988.
We further point out that direct election of Legco seats cannot provide an overall way out for the fight for democratic self-rule.
If the constraints of the British constitution are not broken, even if all Legco seats are directly elected, the Legco will remain a colonial representative body without real power. In practical terms, an elected consultative body can by no means take power from the British, break the control of Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities, and autonomously decide Hong Kong's system and policies according to the will of the Hong Kong people. The effect of a fight only for partial seats of the Legco to be directly elected is even more limited. Thus, the fight for direct election of the Legco can only be viewed as a tactic in promoting the realization of the democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people. The tactic must be linked to the goal of building a political system with the people being sovereign. The tactic must not replace the goal.
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WE BELIEVE that the practice of the democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people means that the entire Hong Kong population exercises a high degree of self-rule, that is, exercises the power of drawing up the constitution and legislation, and the power of rule.
Only by holding the power of drawing up the constitution can Hong Kong's social, economic and political system be decided according to the will of the majority of the Hong Kong people, and can the legislation and correspond to the interests of the Hong Kong masses.
To genuinely exercise the above powers, a Hong Kong General Assembly, generally elected and holding plenary powers, must be produced to hold the above powers. Otherwise, the Hong Kong people will be treated only as a target of consultation by the British
We reiterate that the orientation of the democratic movement is to fight for the convention of a generally elected, full-powered Hong Kong General Assembly. When the Assembly is convened it will mean the end of colonial rule, and democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people will be realized. This organ with plenary Hong Kong will, according social condition at the time of convention and the interests and will of the people, draft, discuss and adopt the Basic Law, and define Hong Kong's social, economic and political system and policies. The Basic Law will be sent to the National People's Congress for the record.
The Chinese authorities diligently monopolized the decision over the Basic Law, and in an undemocratic way appointed a Drafting Committee whose clause on the relationship and role of the executive body and the legislative body which is a reproduction of the existing political system. that the Chinese authorities stay on the opposite side of the Hong Kong people's fight for democracy. Therefore, we call on all citizens of Hong Kong to unite and build a mass democratic movement whose axis is the struggle for the convention of a Hong Kong General Assembly. The movement's central tasks at present are:
• to widely disseminate the idea of "power to the people", of the orientation of struggle being the realization of the democratic self-rule of the Hong Kong people, and to wage a tit-for-tat struggle with the fake democracy of the British and the anti-democratic intentions of the CCP;
• to demand that the Chinese authorities concretize their promise for Hong Kong to enjoy a high degree of autonomy by having the Basic Law drafted and adopted by the Hong Kong to support the struggle of the grassroot masses to defend their rights, and point to the alternative of fighting for democracy and defending the people's livelihood;
• to support all actions against dictatorship and for democracy, and direct all partial struggles to the road of the democratic movement fight for the convention of a General Assembly.
WHEN negotiations between China and Britain on the future of Hong Kong took place, quite a number of political groups ap-
HONG KONG peared in Hong Kong. They are in fact the embryo of political parties. They have expressed ideas on the Hong Kong government's policies and on questions related to Hong Kong's present and future development (including the question of the political system). On the other hand, representatives of the bourgeoisie are also forming their political groupings. This shows that embryonic political party activities have been going on.
The Hong Kong government rejects the legalization of political parties, and the bourgeoisie and the Chinese authorities (with their followers) voice strong opposition to "political party politics", because they want to monopolize power and deprive the people of their political rights. Therefore, the fight for the legalization of political parties is the fight for the freedom of activity of political parties and for breaking the repression of the rulers.
Most importantly, historical experience shows that for any social class or stratum, only through political parties representing their interests can they express their needs unequivocally and fully, and gather their strength effectively to realize their aims.
In terms of the fight for democratic self-rule, the Hong Kong people urgently need the legalization of political parties so that the present and future political groups can show their political program to the people in the capacity of political parties, and the people can, by this, examine if the parties do insist on the fight for democracy, and if their proposals correspond to the interests of the grassroot masses. In this process, the people can select militants that truly represent the
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an important component of the struggle of the Chinese people for democracy. The democratic movements in Hong Kong and in China mutually depend on and promote each other. Since the 1976 Tian An Men Square event, the CCP crisis of rule has been worsening.' With the incessant struggle of the vanguards of the democratic movement and the awakening of the general masses in the mainland, a bright perspective for development has opened up for China's the democratic movement of Hong Kong ends colonial rule, it will begin to integrate with the people of China, and together they will fight for a democratic future for the whole of China. * 1. The Tian An Men square riot took place on April 5, 1976. Over 100,000 workers and students spontaneous. ly mobilized against the regime. On the struggle for de- mocracy in China, see articles in IV 113, February 9, 25 1987. September 28, 1987 • International Viewpoint
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