The people have spoken, at least those who were civic-minded enough to vote; a new look and enlarged Legislative Council will take Hong Kong out of the doldrums to a bright and better future when it takes office next year.
The new legislature “will increase the administration efficacy of the SAR, and start a new chapter for good governance,” Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in a statement immediately after the election.
More than 1.3 million voters came out to cast ballots on Sunday, marking a 30.2 percent voter turnout. This was just 5.6 percentage points less than the last historic low in 1995, when the British government made a last-minute pitch to introduce democracy to Hong Kong after 150 years of authoritarian rule.
The new 90 members, up 20 from the previous legislature, are the brains in their chosen fields and well known in their constituencies. They will use their expertise and experience to question the government on its policies and in the scrutinization of bills. Moreover, in all, Hong Kong can now expect far better representation from the legislators.
An innovation at this year’s election was the setting up of polling stations at the boundary control points at Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau and Heung Yuen Wai, where Hong Kong people working in Beijing, Shanghai and other parts of China flew to Shenzhen, at their own expense, to cast their votes.
The low turnout of voters was possibly due to a general apathy toward politics based on the previous performance of legislators and to a minor extent by subversives seeking to dismantle the election process.
As expected by the authorities, there were attempts by dissidents, both locally and abroad, to sabotage the polls by calling for a boycott of the election or casting blank votes. Even a parliamentary researcher to the British Foreign Office, Emily Harris, urged on her Twitter account Hong Kong residents not to vote. The Independent Commission Against Corruption has issued arrest warrants for five infamous subversives abroad, and police arrested another four in Hong Kong for inciting people not to vote in the election.
The candidates returned are of a very high quality, but their performance will be judged during the next four years to ascertain their worthiness for reelection in 2026.
The new Legislative Council will be smarter looking as well. The Legislative Council rule book have been amended, banning shorts, jeans and sportswear, and requiring more-formal attire as a sign of respect for the legislature. The new rules are also designed to prevent filibustering, a frequent tactic used at the last legislative session to stall meetings and the passing of bills. Now lawmakers will be fined one day’s salary — HK$3,300 ($423) — if they fail to attend meetings without a reasonable excuse. This is aimed to prevent meetings from being canceled through lack of a quorum. In October and November 2020, three consecutive meetings were canceled for lack of a quorum when some lawmakers failed to attend.
With a midterm breakdown of the legislature’s last term session due to shenanigans by rogue lawmakers, the central authorities in Beijing proposed amendments to the formation of the Legislative Council by enlarging the number of seats to 90 from 70 to include 40 representatives elected by the 1,500-strong Election Committee, which also chooses the chief executive (slated for March next year). This enables the legislature to be made up of representatives from the Geographical, Functional and Election Committee Constituencies, a unique position for a democracy with Hong Kong characteristics. All members were elected.
As votes were being counted in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Monday morning, the State Council Information Office issued a white paper on “Hong Kong: Democratic Progress Under the Framework of One Country, Two Systems”.
The paper noted that some Western democracies had arrogantly tried to push their own model on Hong Kong while they continued to have their own problems, and that “one size does not fit all”.
But the white paper did point out that with the new and improved electoral system, democracy in Hong Kong is advancing with the times.
“This system ensures the sound long-term development of democracy in Hong Kong and fosters the favorable conditions necessary for the election by universal suffrage of the chief executive and the Legislative Council,” the report said.
And it reiterated the central government’s position: “It will work with all social groups, sectors and stakeholders towards the ultimate goal of election by universal suffrage of the Chief Executive and all members of the Legislative Council. Under the framework of One Country, Two Systems, the prospects are bright for democracy in Hong Kong.”
The author is a former chief information officer of the Hong Kong government, a PR and media consultant, and a veteran journalist.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.