Why Is Beijing So Afraid of Universal Suffrage in Hong Kong?
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The recent decision made by
Chinese People's
Congress completely shattered
Hong Kong people's hope that the
Chief Executive can be selected through universal suffrage in 2017.
Pro-democracy groups declared on August 31 that
Hong Kong has entered an era of "civil disobedience”. On
September 1, the
Chinese regime also threatened that “
Occupy Central” is an illegal activity. If someone launched the activities, the police must have the ability to handle it. Then, why would the Chinese regime defy public opinion to stop “genuine universal suffrage” in Hong Kong?
Democrat advocates made the following analyses.
The National People's Congress Standing Committee, last Sunday, passed a decision on Hong Kong's political reform, and laid down a narrow framework for
Hong Kong Chief Executive Election in 2017. It has completely shattered Hong Kong people's hope that the Chief Executive can be selected by universal suffrage in 2017. That night, over 5,
000 people participated in a rally launched by Occupy Central
with Love and
Peace (
OCLP), in which a co-founder of the group,
Benny Tai, declared: “Hong Kong formally entered an “era of civic disobedience.”
On the morning of September 1, the
CPC Standing Committee deputy secretary-general
Li Fei met with representatives from various sectors in Hong Kong to elaborate on the
NPC's decision. Li Fei said that the mass protest and the occupation of Hong Kong's financial street launched by the pro-democracy group are illegal activities. If someone launches it, police must have the ability to deal with it.
The meeting was interrupted by pan-democracy legislators who shouted at the top of their lungs “implementing genuine universal suffrage" on the spot. In addition to these legislators, others who protested outside were members from other civic organizations, including the Occupy Central
Movement,
Hong Kong Federation of Students, Scholarism, etc. They declared “shame on the election,” and vowed to fight to the end, while they scuffled with the police there.
Such a protest should not be surprising to the authorities. Then, why would they rather defy public opinion to block universal suffrage in Hong Kong? How on earth would universal suffrage pose a threat to the authorities?
Beijing human rights activist
Hu Jia: “
The Chinese Communist Party (
CCP) knows that universal suffrage is something fatal to it. As long as either Hong Kong or
Macau implements genuine universal suffrage, it would be an example for other regions ruled by the CCP to follow. As a result, it is obviously fatal to the CCP. As the CCP is an autocratic, tyrannic and fascistic political party, how would it be possible for it to allow a free and democratic place with rule of law existing in its jurisdiction?”
Dr.
Yang Jianli is a scholar who earned his doctorate degree in political economy at
Harvard University and was included on the Hong Kong's entry black list by the Chinese regime due to his support for the “June-4th” pro-democracy movement. According to his analyses, the reason why Beijing went in defiance of public opinion in Hong Kong to make such a decision was that Hong Kong is a place that has always played a role in "promoting democracy”.
Dr. Yang Jianli said: “Hong Kong is a civil society that has its own tradition of freedom.
People can enjoy considerable freedom, and it is a society ruled by law.
Besides, it has freedom of press and freedom of speech. In fact, a lot of information is transmitted to
China through Hong Kong. Additionally, any democratization movement in Hong Kong would be an example for places across China to follow.”
Yang Jianli also pointed out that the reason why the Chinese regime has controlled Hong Kong so tightly is economic interest.
Dr.
Yang: “Of course, there’s another reason for the Chinese regime's tight control over Hong Kong. As their elite groups have enjoyed tremendous interests in Hong Kong, should it not control Hong Kong tightly and let people in Hong Kong enjoy full freedom and democracy, then the privileges and interests they have had in Hong Kong would vanish. So, it is controlling Hong Kong tightly.”
Yang Jianli said that, authoritarian regimes have a natural inertia, that is, they tend to control others. As long as they feel others holding a different tune, they tend to control them. It is due to CCP's authoritarian characteristics.
Zhou Zhirong, a democrat activist in
Hunan's
Xiangtan, believes the CCP would certainly treat Hong Kong people who participate in the “civic disobedience” movement with armed force just like the June-4th massacre.
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