With the vetting process for the hopefuls in the Sunday's Legislative Council race duly completed earlier this month by the Candidate Eligibility Review Committee, the first LegCo election under the revamped electoral system is moving full steam ahead. Unlike the District Council election in 2019, which was conducted during the violent anti-extradition protests, the LegCo contest this year has the great blessings of assured safety for candidates, voters and supporting officials under the National Security Law for Hong Kong since June, 2020. This legislation, after the self-decided disbandment of some quasi-political bodies operating seditiously by riding over the lack of stringent legal provisions on national security here in the territory, truly enables candidates to compete on their track records of professional and community services, as well as their visions and missions for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which determine the extent of support they are able to canvass from the voting public.
Amid the chief executive's query over the value of political parties with opposition leanings that refuse to engage actively in public elections, the LegCo poll is set to go forward without uncontested wins in all constituencies. Healthy competition has emerged for seats in all the 10 directly elected geographical constituencies, and a total of 14 hopefuls – who are not from the traditional pro-establishment camps – are making bids for the poll this time looking to prevent the institution from becoming a "one-voice chamber". Meanwhile, at least seven candidates considered "middle of the road" personalities have secured sufficient nominations to enter the race for the geographical direct election, on hopes of "striking a balance between preserving the constitutional order and freedoms of Hong Kongers". The newly formed 40-seat Election Committee constituency is not immune to the test of competition and sees 51 aspirants vying for the seats. In the professional and trade-based functional constituencies, all the 30 seats will undergo a contest, which is taken as an "unprecedented outcome".
With only the exception of registered nurse Lau Tsz-chun, who was denied candidacy for the spot in the medical and health services sector on grounds of his being a part-time government staff member, the remaining 153 applications, regardless of the political backgrounds of the submitters, have all been validated by the CERC for running in the LegCo race. Among them, Sai Kung District Council Vice-Chairman Daryl Choi Ming-hei, who won with an opposition stance in the District Council election in 2019, obtained a nomination from Election Committee member Samuel Yung Wing-ki, a veteran delegate of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who acceded to Choi's request in the hope of helping young people who are "eager to pursue democracy". Another iconic figure emerging from the candidacy screening is Wong Tai Sin District Councilor Mandy Tam Heung-man, a former Civic Party member, who passed the sincerity scrutiny by the authorities in both her oath of allegiance to the HKSAR and the LegCo eligibility vetting, which she commended as a fair mechanism not in place for silencing dissenting voices.
There are always provocative noises in the political community making groundless accusations that Beijing is maneuvering to make the LegCo election "one-dimensional". This is despite the repeated rebukes of such by the central authorities, emphasizing that the city is a "pluralistic society", and therefore, Beijing is happy to see a "plurality of voices" in the legislative assembly. The critics, including Western media and politicians, have railed against the lineup of candidates by warning that little diversity will appear in the next-term LegCo, and the lawmakers are "unlikely to have their own will, and will only toe Beijing's line".
Such wild criticisms have ignored the positive changes that are expected to happen to the local legislature after the electoral reform. The substantial increase in the LegCo size from 70 to 90 members has significantly broadened the base for balanced representation and participation. This merit has been further guaranteed by the impartial, comprehensive and liberal assessment of bidders for qualification to offer candidacy for the election. The LegCo can surely look forward to seeing new players not fielded by established political parties but through the selection mechanisms of individual clansman bodies, grassroots organizations or national associations. Some candidates are indeed campaigning for the 40 seats in the Election Committee constituency without support from any political affiliations.
With this diverse lineup of hopefuls for LegCo, it is next to impossible to project an easy manipulation of its functioning and decisions on major bills and social issues. This new batch of local politicians will have widely varying causes to articulate for different segments or interests in Hong Kong society which they represent or wish to stay connected to the ground as vital pillars of the HKSAR's governance by patriots. In short, diversity in makeup and positive proliferation of views will characterize the new-look LegCo that will be returned in the Sunday's poll. All along, the central government is giving huge support to the HKSAR to sustain a thriving economy for advancing the well-being of its population. Undoubtedly, this most highly valued goal can be attained only with assurances of peace, stability and prosperity in the local society, which Beijing is most interested to see happen. Viewed in these objective perspectives and with the vital consideration that the city is an integral part of the People's Republic of China, can there be anything wrong with the strategy of toeing Beijing's line and integrating into the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for national development?
Taking into account the view of Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, the legislature to be elected would feature prominently as "moderate or reformist", one that might ask for constitutional reforms while abiding by the "one country, two systems" principle applied in the HKSAR. The electoral reform now in implementation has effectively and desirably put to an end the "decades-long confrontation of pro-establishment and opposition blocs", and the next crucial issue coming on the line is concerned with the ways the patriots in the LegCo will take to address the pressing livelihood issues and address grievances of disgruntled residents. It is to be hoped that amid the anticipated diversity in the upcoming legislature, a rational consensus can still be reached on the wise approaches to adopt in resolving the various big challenges confronting the city. And in the longer-term interest of Hong Kong, let's make an effort to cast an appropriate vote in the LegCo election.
The author is a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
Please click here to see the list of 2021 LegCo election candidates.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.