Hong Kong voters reject Beijing and
HONG KONG out out 60, scheduled to increase to 20 in 1995).
The winning of most of the directly elected seats by the "democrats" (mostly of middle class background) reflects the support of Hong Kong citizens for their program of "striving for democracy and protecting livelihood" and their aspiration for a society with democratic rights and social security. How they try to realize their program after entering the Legislative Council will be a stiff test for the
IN SEPTEMBER the first partial direct elections were held in
Hong Kong. A British colony, Hong Kong is governed, according to the Statesman's Year Book, by "a Governor, aided by an Executive Council, composed of the Chief
Secretary, the Commander of the British Forces, the Financial
Secretary, the Attorney-General and such other members as may be appointed by the Queen upon the Governor's nomination."
The voters took this opportunity to reject candidates associated either with the existing colonial system or the
Chinese bureaucracy (Hong Kong reverts to Chinese rule in
1997). The following article on the elections is taken from the
November 5 issue of the Hong Kong Trotskyist magazine,
October Review.
| HE casting of votes by Hong Kong citizens in the 1991 partial direct election for the Legislative Council certainly did not reflect the government propaganda that "Voting is Power"
However, whether voters voted or not and for whom they voted, can be taken as a political thermometer reflecting their preferences.
Three obvious observations can be made:
• The three candidates explicitly identified with the Chinese Communist Party
(CCP) lost by a considerable margin;
• All the candidates supported by the
Liberal Democratic Alliance (LDA), representing the bourgeoisie, also lost;
• Candidates from the United Democrats (UD), Meeting Point (MP) and other groups largely identified as "democrats"
won.
Rejection of pro-Beijing candidates
The defeat of all candidates related to the regime in Beijing shows that, two years after the 1989 democracy movement in China, Hong Kong citizens have not lessened their rejection of the CCP
Moreover the changes in the regime.
Soviet Union during the campaign period, in particular the fall of the Soviet Communist Party, have sent a clear signal that the
CCP regime is also in its death agony.
Even with their strong grassroots network and the huge financial and human resources thrown into the election campaign by organizations such as the pro-
CCP Hong Kong Trade Unions Federation
(HKFTU) and community organizations, their candidates lost to the "democrats" This shows clearly the political aspiration of many Hong Kong citizens for democracy
The political burden of tail-ending the CCP regime will continue to create big pressure for the HKFTU and other such organizations. How to locate themselves in the changing situation in Hong Kong and China, with what material resources and ideology to maintain the participation of active members and develop grassroots networks — these are the key questions for them.
Party of big bourgeoisie defeated
The political significance of the defeat of all candidates presented by the party of the big bourgeoisie, the LDA, is equally great. It shows that citizens are discontented with the plundering of big capital, and reject conservative political forces closely linked to British colonial rule.
The Chinese and British regimes have colluded with each other in secret deals to prepare for the transfer of power to mutually agreed forces, and have joined hands in blocking the direct election of all Legislative Council members.
The election results show that Hong Kong rejects both pro-CCP and proBritish colonial forces. It is thus foreseeable that the CCP and the colonial regime will jointly block the request of the masses for a significant increase in the number of directly elected seats in the 1995 Leg islative Council election (currently 18
"democrats"
Immediately after the elections, the UD proposed a secret list of candidates to the Governor for the appointed seats on the Council, an incident that attracted widespread criticism — the central issue being the UD's failure to oppose the system of appointed seats.
More serious is the fact that both UD and MP have said that they will accept the appointment of their members by the governor to the Executive Council (which holds real power under the Governor), thereby recognizing the colonial system of rule and showing readiness to share responsibility for it.
The incident was condemned in a joint letter by 53 individuals and groups. This statement regrets the contravention of the concept of democracy and stresses that all seats in the Legislative Council should be directly elected by Hong Kong citizens on the principle of one person, one vote.
Vacillations on democratic principles
Besides their vacillations on democratic principles, the "democrats" lack a substantial organized grassroots network The election model favours candidates with high media exposure. Many citizens supported the "democrats" for their general position on democratic and social welfare issues — but it is not clear how deep this support goes.
Furthermore, only half of the eligible voters registered for these elections and less than 40% of them voted. Thus the "democrats" victory is only a first step in the citizens' struggle for democracy; a long process of organizing the masses lies ahead.
From this point of view, consistency has to be maintained in respect of organizational means and programmatic princi ples.
The democracy movement should insist on the need for citizens' self-organization to pursue the struggle for democracy; the aim of the democracy movement should be to totally break with the period of British colonial rule, as well as with control and manipulation by big capital and the CCP regime, so that the people can democratically decide the social system. Attempts to rely on the conservative forces or to compromise and trade will lead to retreats on principles. The 1991 election is a milestone on the 11
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colonialism
Chan Cheong ran on behalf of October Review in a mainly working class constituency. He gained 3421 votes (4.2%). Here is a summary of his platform.
Main Themes:
• Promote democratic changes in mainland China, end CCP one-party rule, return power to the people and realize democratic unification of China on a democratic basis.
• Defend the rights of workers and grassroots organizations, and, based on the self-organization of the masses, strive for a universally elected People's
Congress of Hong Kong to exercise full power and realize democratic self-rule.
Basic Positions:
• Strengthen the solidarity of the people in mainland China and Hong Kong, support the people in mainland China in their struggle for democracy; end CCP one-party rule, return power to the people, democratically draft a new constitu-
International Viewpoint #218 • December 9, 1991