The Whole Picture

By Shen Du

The Central Government holds the power and responsibility to lead improvements in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR）s electoral system. The improvement is meant to ensure Hong Kongs democratic system develops more smoothly in a healthy way. The residents of Hong Kong have been long agonized by endless political disputes and social divides and have long wished that the Central Government would take action to resolve these issues. This is for the welfare of Hong Kong. And it is Chinas internal affair.

However， some Western politicians jumped to make indiscriminate accusations， and some public opinion organizations followed them， accusing China of “suppressing Hong Kongs democracy.” This turning things upside down reveals their ideological prejudice and ignorance of Hong Kongs real situation. Who is the true defender of Hong Kongs democracy？ Who is disrupting Hong Kongs political order， prosperity and stability？ Slander cannot conceal the facts.

Historical facts

To comment on an issue， we must first understand it comprehensively.

Britain had ruled Hong Kong for more than 150 years. The 28 governors of Hong Kong during that period were not democratically elected， and those elections never sought out the opinions of the people of Hong Kong. Those governors were not responsible to them. The Chinese， who accounted for 98 percent of Hong Kongs population， were not able to enjoy equal citizenship and political participation.

The return of Hong Kong to the motherland has started the process of democratic development in Hong Kong. Under “one country， two systems，” the people of Hong Kong are entitled to unprecedented democratic rights. If someone deliberately distorts historical facts， ignores the achievements of Hong Kongs democratic development， and makes prejudiced comments， their actions become subjective speculation with ulterior motives.

Since Hong Kongs return in 1997， the Central Government has always supported the development of democracy there， protecting HKSAR residents so that they can exercise their democratic rights in accordance with the law.

However， anti-China instigators have deliberately distorted their understanding of the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law of HKSAR， undermining “one country， two systems” and blatantly advocating “Hong Kong independence，” among other wrongful propositions.

In collusion with foreign anti-China forces， the anti-China instigators exploited the loopholes in Hong Kongs electoral system， instigating illegal and violent activities.

Their actions pushed Hong Kongs democracy into disorder with turbulence over proposed ordinance amendments. The anti-China instigators poisoned the social atmosphere， spreading prejudice and hatred， and doing everything possible to question and deny the Central Governments sovereignty over Hong Kong. They even demanded foreign sanctions on the Central Government and on the HKSAR Government.

Is this the democracy Hong Kong people look forward to？ What future will Hong Kong have with these anti-China disruptors provoking unrest？

Safeguarding legal rights

The improvement of Hong Kongs electoral system will be conducive to good governance. The Central Government is taking decisive action to develop a democratic election system that conforms to the conditions of Hong Kong and reflects the overall interests of society， to ensure that patriots govern Hong Kong and eject the disruptors. This will push Hong Kongs democracy toward a healthy， orderly and higher-quality level.

Ultimately， improving the electoral system is aimed at safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of the vast majority of Hong Kong residents and targets the very small number of anti-China instigators. The Central Government fully respects Hong Kongs pluralistic society， and shows understanding toward Hong Kong residents， displaying rare tolerance and openness in improving Hong Kongs electoral system.

Some Western media allege that emphasizing “patriots governing Hong Kong”means all the elected officials will have the same views. This distorts the Central Governments intention and ignores the reality of Hong Kong. This nonsense should stop.

An internal affair

A scientific electoral system is conducive to the development of democracy and unity. A bad electoral system can cause social divides and split the country. Countries like Spain， Britain， Italy and Russia have all witnessed local elections harming national security. The U.S. has also experienced social turmoil after elections， and is busy revising its electoral system.

China does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries， and we advise other countries not to make irresponsible remarks about the democratic development of our local administrative regions.

There is no unified model for democratic development. Improving Hong Kongs electoral system in accordance with the original intention of the “one country， two systems”policy demonstrates the Central Governments firm determination to implement it comprehensively and accurately as well as its sincerity in promoting the development of high-quality democracy in Hong Kong. BR

Developing a Democratic System

The National Peoples Congress （NPC）， Chinas top legislature， adopted a decision on improving the electoral system of HKSAR on March 11.

The decision has nine articles：

Improving the electoral system of HKSAR must fully and faithfully implement the policy of “one country， two systems” under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy， uphold the constitutional order in HKSAR as established by the Constitution and the Basic Law， ensure the administration of Hong Kong by Hong Kong people with patriots as the main body， effectively improve the governance efficacy of HKSAR， and safeguard the right to vote and the right to stand for election of permanent residents of HKSAR.

HKSAR shall establish an Election Committee which is broadly representative， suited to HKSARs realities， and representative of the overall interests of its society. The Election Committee shall be responsible for electing the chief executive designate and part of the members of the Legislative Council （LegCo）. The Election Committee shall also be responsible for nominating candidates for the chief executive and LegCo members， as well as for other matters. The Election Committee shall be composed of 1，500 members from the following five sectors： industrial， commercial and financial sectors； the professions； grassroots， labor， religious and other sectors； LegCo members and representatives of district organizations； Hong Kong deputies to the NPC， Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference and representatives of Hong Kong members of related national organizations.

The chief executive shall be elected by the Election Committee and appointed by the Central Peoples Government. Candidates for the office of the chief executive shall be nominated jointly by not less than 188 members of the Election Committee， among whom the number of members of each sector should be not less than 15. The Election Committee shall elect the chief executive designate by secret ballot on a one-person-one-vote basis. The election of the chief executive designate shall require a simple majority vote of all the members of the Election Committee.

The LegCo shall be composed of 90 members in each term. Members of the LegCo shall include members returned by the Election Committee， those returned by functional constituencies， and those by geographical constituencies through direct elections.

A candidate qualification review committee of HKSAR shall be established. The committee shall be responsible for reviewing and confirming the qualifications of candidates for the Election Committee members， the chief executive， and the LegCo members. HKSAR shall improve the system and mechanisms related to qualification review to ensure that the qualifications of candidates are in conformity with the Basic Law， the Law on Safeguarding National Security in HKSAR， the NPC Standing Committees interpretation of Article 104 of the Basic Law and its decision on the qualification of HKSAR LegCo members， and provisions of relevant local laws of HKSAR.

The NPC Standing Committee is authorized to， in accordance with the decision on improving the electoral system of HKSAR， amend Annex I： Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Annex II： Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Its Voting Procedures， to the Basic Law.

In accordance with the decision and the Basic Laws Annex I and Annex II amended by the NPC Standing Committee， HKSAR shall amend relevant local laws， and organize and regulate election activities accordingly.

The chief executive of HKSAR shall submit in a timely manner reports to the Central Peoples Government on relevant important situations including the institutional arrangements for elections of HKSAR and the organization of the elections.

The decision shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.

（Source： Xinhua News Agency）