Hong Kong's new legislature stirs controversy
June 24, 1997
Web posted at: 11:38 a.m. EDT (1538 GMT)From Correspondent Mike Chinoy
HONG KONG (CNN) -- Of all the decisions China has made regarding the Hong Kong handover, none produced more anger and controversy than the decision to replace the territory's current elected legislature with an appointed one.
Elected legislator Emily Lau called China's action a "retrograde step."
"Come July first, all of us will be thrown out of office," she said. "The whole of Hong Kong will be disenfranchised. And no one can claim there is somebody in the legislature who can represent him or her. "
The members of the appointed Provisional Legislature, which has been meeting across the border in China for the pasts six months, disagree.
"The Provisional Legislature is in existence because of the inability of Britain and China to come to an agreement on political reform. So it is a fact of life," said Henry Tang, a member of the new body.
The source of the disagreement was Gov. Chris Patten's move to make the Legislative Council more democratic -- a sharp change from earlier decades when Hong Kong was run by a powerful British governor while an appointed legislature rubber-stamped his decisions.
The result was an election in 1995 in which a million people voted -- and pro-democracy candidates scored impressive victories. That led to a Beijing declaration that all institutions created under Patten's reforms would be abolished.
"Chinese leaders have stressed repeatedly that they want Hong Kong to be an economic city, not a political city," said Willem Van Kemenade, author of "China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Inc." "They want Hong Kong to be ruled by business tycoons, not by elected politicians."
It is returning Hong Kong to its traditionally autocratic colonial style of government rather than imposing Beijing- style dictatorship that is at the heart of China's decision to appoint a Provisional Legislature.
"Considering the history of Hong Kong, considering the 150 years of colonial rule," said Provisional Legislator Selina Chow, "it is inevitable that some people want to move forward more carefully than others."
But it may be easier to undo the legislature Patten created than to erase the ideas he implanted.
"What you can't do is dismantle the benchmarks we've established in the last five years," Patten said. "People know what a free society is in Hong Kong. They know what free elections are."
And most Hong Kong people seem reluctant to see all that disappear -- so it's no surprise that on the night of the handover, the major protest rallies will take place at the Legislative Council building.
There, pro-democracy politicians elected in 1995 plan to stay on after midnight when the premises should be turned over to their unelected provisional rivals.
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- As handover looms, Hong Kong police ponder future - June 18, 1997
Related sites:
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- Shanghai on the Internet
- Hong Kong 1997 - Official Chinese Site
- Hong Kong 1997 and Beyond - What the Future Holds
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