I haven't written on this blog in over two years, but now that Occupy Central has hit its one-month mark, I feel I should at least document my thoughts, since it is, after all, about my experiences in my birthplace.
The premise of all this is Hong Kong's supposed right to universal suffrage.
I started by looking, of course, at the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the original treaty signed in relation to the issue of Hong Kong's handover, which states:
(5) The current social and economic systems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged, and so will the life-style. Rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of travel, of movement, of correspondence, of strike, of choice of occupation, of academic research and of religious belief will be ensured by law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Private property, ownership of enterprises, legitimate right of inheritance and foreign investment will be protected by law.
(6) The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will retain the status of a free port and a separate customs territory.
(12) The above-stated basic policies of the People's Republic of China regarding Hong Kong and the elaboration of them in Annex I to this Joint Declaration will be stipulated, in a Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, and they will remain unchanged for 50 years*.
Since the Declaration says we need to follow the Basic Law, then, let's take a look at that:
Chapter 3, Article 39:
The provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights*, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents shall not be restricted unless as prescribed by law. Such restrictions shall not contravene the provisions of the preceding paragraph of this Article.
So let's check out that Covenant:
Article 25:
Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:
(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives*;
(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine*periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage*and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors;
(c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country.
*emphasis added
In August 2014, the National People's Congress Standing Committee made the decision to "interpret" the Basic Law differently, so that instead of having "freely chosen representatives" as the International Covenant says, China will dictate the candidates from which we can choose. Not quite the same thing, is it? And basically, this sets a dangerous precedent of China just swooping in and changing the Basic Law as they wish. So much for the "life-style" of Hong Kong not changing.
Even before the August NPCSC decision, there was Occupy Central with Love and Peace, and Scholarism fighting heavily for true democracy, and the rest - the protests, the tear gas, the thugs - international news outfits have covered the rest.
For us living in Hong Kong and with roots here, all of this raises a lot of questions.
The protests have allegedly been bad for the economy, which is Hong Kong's raison d'etre - think about it - Hong Kong was colonised primarily for its potential as a trading port, and what a damn fine trading port we make. We're now home to Asia's most important stock exchange, one of the major logistics ports and our efficiency (which we love so much) has the economy to thank. Business is Hong Kong's heart, lungs, and often brains, but increasingly, the blood in this system has been the political framework and it would appear that we need a transfusion.
