Hong Kong to Enter into Consultations Regarding Democratic Reform
By Daniel Hollingsworth
July 12, 2007 | Printer Friendly

The BBC reports that Hong Kong has presented a consultation paper on constitutional reform to open a three-month period in which it will consider options to introduce more democratic elements into its political system.  A centerpiece to the presentation is the target of 2012 for reforms that would allow the direct election of Hong Kong’s chief executive and 60-member Legislative Council.  Currently, the chief executive is elected by an 800-member committee consisting of members elected or appointed from a variety of interest groups, including businesses, social organizations, and local and national legislatures.  The International Herald Tribune writes that in next year’s Legislative Council elections, only half of the Council will be elected directly, while the other half is “allocated to interest groups elected from a restricted franchise of about 220,000 people.” 

The BBC also reports that the proposal includes a possibility for universal suffrage to be phased in by 2016.  Hong Kong’s Basic Law, agreed to before sovereignty Hong Kong was transferred to China in 1997, mandates “gradual and orderly” progress toward universal suffrage, but little progress has been made over the last ten years.  Additionally, the Basic Law still requires that the Chief Executive continue to be subject to approval by a nominating committee, and there are no stipulations regarding the composition of this committee or how many candidates would be permitted to run for the position.

The International Herald Tribune reports that Hong Kong’s chief executive, Henry Tang, and its secretary of constitutional affairs, Stephen Lam, “stressed that the government had an open mind on the outcome and would only support an option that had wide community support.”  However, “in recent weeks, senior mainland officials have issued firm reminders that Beijing remains the final arbiter of the extent of freedoms Hong Kong can enjoy.”  Bloomberg adds that “any changes to Hong Kong's election process require the approval of two-thirds of the city's lawmakers and of China's National People's Congress, whose Chairman Wu Bangguo said in June that Hong Kong's autonomy is ‘not intrinsic.’”  Previous attempts by Hong Kong to move toward reform were met with tepid public support as they were not seen as comprehensive enough to be meaningful, and the last attempt failed to gain the necessary two-thirds support in the Legislative Council to advance any further. 

References:

BBC News: HK launches democracy proposals

International Herald Tribune: Hong Kong starts formal consultations on its future democracy

Bloomberg: Hong Kong Begins Democracy Debate, with 2012 Option