China fine tunes criteria for HK chief
By Willy Wo-Lap Lam, CNN Senior China Analyst
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Beijing is assessing the seriousness of a growing political crisis in Hong Kong.
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Several thousand people in Hong Kong turned out for anti-government rallies demanding chief executive Tung Chee-hwa resign.
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Under the proposed legislation -- prior to recent amendments -- anyone found guilty of acts of treason, sedition, secession or subversion against mainland China could be jailed for life.
Treason: instigation of foreign invasion, assisting a public enemy at war with the People's Republic of China (PRC), or joining foreign armed forces at war with the PRC.
Secession: use of war, force or serious criminal means to split the country.
Subversion: use of war, force or serious criminal means to overthrow or intimidate the Central People's Government, or to disestablish the basic system of the state
Sedition: inciting others to commit treason, subversion or seccession, or inciting others to engage in violent public disorder that would seriously endanger the stability of the PRC.
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HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Beijing has for the first time listed "administrative ability and political skills" as a prerequisite qualification for Hong Kong's next chief executive.
While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has no intention of replacing incumbent Tung Chee-hwa for the foreseeable future, cadres responsible for the special administrative region (SAR) are fine-tuning the criteria for selecting Tung's successor.
Tung, who was handpicked by former president Jiang Zemin a year or so before the July 1, 1997 "handover" of Hong Kong's sovereignty, was given a second five-year term in mid-2002.
However, the former shipping tycoon's ability to run the SAR has been called into question after more than 500,000 residents recently took to the streets to protest against his policies, including the enactment of a draconian national security bill.
And in a rally in downtown Hong Kong on Sunday, 20,000 residents called for the election of the chief executive by universal suffrage in 2007. (Doubts over HK security law)
Political analysts in Hong Kong and Beijing said the new leadership under President Hu Jintao had no intention of either replacing Tung before 2007 or allowing universal-suffrage polls to determine his successor.
However, it is understood that cadres responsible for Hong Kong affairs are taking a new look at the qualifications for the high-profile and much-coveted job.
A Beijing source familiar with the CCP's latest thinking on Hong Kong said the leadership was after four qualities: loyalty to Beijing, "economic collateral," acceptability to the Hong Kong and international business communities, as well as "administrative ability and political skills to run the SAR."
"Economic collateral" refers to the fact that the candidate or his clan must have substantial holdings and investments in Hong Kong or the mainland so that he will feel beholden to Beijing for the long-term well-being of his family.
The source said the first three qualifications were not new.
"But it is the first time that Beijing has insisted that the next chief executive must have strong administrative competence and political skills," he said.
"Such skills include ability to handle -- and balance -- the disparate political and business interest blocs in the Hong Kong community."
Tung's recent political crisis has erupted largely because of the simplistic way in which he has pushed Beijing's line on the need for an anti-subversion law.
And members of Hong Kong's largest political party, the Democratic Party, have accused Tung and his colleagues of refusing to hold a dialogue with politicians favoring a faster pace of democracy.
The party's vice-chairman, Albert Ho, said on Sunday that he was glad a fairly senior Chinese official had recently come to Hong Kong and talked to him about the political issues surrounding the SAR.
Chinese officials, including the former and current premiers Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao, have indirectly criticized Tung for indecisiveness and for failing to unite Hong Kong citizens.
Analysts said while Beijing would find the sacking of Tung too political destabilizing, senior cadres wanted to make sure that his successor would have what it takes to avoid a repetition of the massive July 1 demonstrations.
