After the ups and downs of the past year, the upcoming Legislative Council election — postponed from 2020 — may very well reshape the political landscape of Hong Kong.
With our amended and improved electoral system, we can be sure that only patriots with Hong Kong’s best interests at heart will have seats in the legislature from now on. At present, only one candidate has been disqualified in the vetting process, leaving 153 candidates vying for 90 seats.
As a member of the medical profession, I am naturally more concerned with the constituency overseeing Hong Kong’s medical and health services, which is the most fiercely contested functional constituency, with five candidates fighting for just one seat.
The disqualified candidate, Lau Tsz-chun, also happened to be with this constituency. He is a registered nurse who was disqualified because he works for the government part time, which is against election rules. The candidates for this seat are: Chan Chi-Chung, Chan Wing-kwong, Pong Oi-lan, David Lam Tzit-yuen, and Ho Sung-hon. These candidates represent a wide range of subsectors in this constituency, including nurses, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, pharmacists and registered medical practitioners.
Despite the fierce competition, thankfully, mudslinging and other dirty tactics have not been deployed by any of the five candidates, or for that matter by any of the 153 hopefuls who are running, at least not yet.
It is also hoped that the candidates who finally take up the seats in LegCo will do so not on empty promises and catchy slogans but with a clear platform, flair, dedication to serving the public, and perhaps most importantly, integrity.
And after the chaos of the last two and a half years, a civilized campaign is just the stability that the city and its people are craving. We need patriots to run Hong Kong, not rebels and renegades who would rather see Hong Kong burn. Similarly, we do not need LegCo members who go for personal glory or for the handsome financial remuneration.
While I am also concerned about the turnout on election day, I am at the same time pragmatic. A survey this month indicated a record low level of voter enthusiasm. I can only hope that on election day, the people of Hong Kong realize how important this election is for the city’s future.
If this upcoming election is to create the impact that Hong Kong requires, then local and government organizations need to drum up support and engagement within the community. But I am also pragmatic in that we need not worry too much about low turnouts. Many local elections in Western countries have turnout rates of around 30 percent. So long as voters who want to vote have easy access to their ballots, we should be fine.
And looking past the election and toward the next four years, I am anxious to see what will be achieved in this upcoming term.
The previous two terms were marred by fiscal squandering, filibustering, violent anti-government protests, and other immature antics. In short, the legislative members of the last two terms have been a letdown for the people of Hong Kong. The construction program of hospitals was delayed due to endless filibustering. And as expected, a lack of vital hospitals — nay, even modern hospitals — put untold strain on the city’s healthcare during flashpoints of the pandemic.
The requirements under Article 23 of the Basic Law must also be passed into local law, as these requirements are not, and reasonably so, covered by the National Security Law for Hong Kong. For example, the latter does expressly prohibit acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with external forces, but it does not cover treason, sedition, and theft of state secrets.
As Deng Xiaoping said, “Love China, love Hong Kong.” And this is the code by which our next term of patriotic legislators ought to abide. Deng went on to say the following when defining a patriot: “A patriot is one who respects the Chinese nation, sincerely supports the motherland’s resumption of sovereign rule over Hong Kong, and wishes not to impair Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. …We don’t demand that they be in favor of China’s socialist system; we ask only for them to love the motherland and Hong Kong.”
These are simple and basic expectations for a true patriot, and we can only hope that this term of lawmakers will accordingly prove their worth and integrity over the next four years.
But it goes without saying that patriotism requires sacrifice. Some legislators choose to retain their employment in addition to their LegCo duties. That’s been a common practice so far, but it means that their LegCo membership will be a part-time job. Today, being a legislator is a full-time, or some might even say, more than a full-time role. Will this upcoming term of legislators be able to step up to the plate? After all, I have the sense that many candidates’ present salaries are lower than what they will get from being a LegCo member.
Further, members of the new LegCo should also broaden their outlook. Let’s look at the recent TV debate of the accounting sector. Although the candidates were composed and conducted themselves well, they merely focused on issues within their own sector and area of expertise. While every issue and every sector of Hong Kong is an integral cog within a working machine, we need our legislators to represent the whole of Hong Kong and not just their own professions.
And if we are to put Hong Kong back on its feet again, and Hong Kong probably will continue to be under various levels of stress from time to time, we need a wide range of expertise and greater cohesion among our LegCo members, not only among them in the LegCo chamber, but also between them and the people of Hong Kong. While I am anxious to see what the next four years may bring us, I am also excited by the potential that can come with a new set of patriotic, capable, dedicated and selfless LegCo members. I encourage all our readers who are registered voters to vote on Dec 19.
The author is president of Wisdom Hong Kong, a think tank.
Please click here to see the list of 2021 LegCo election candidates.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.