HK's Democrats Divided On Next Step In Political Reform

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Saturday 6 November 9:40 PM

HK's Democrats Divided On Next Step In Political Reform

By Andrew Batson

Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Sharp divisions have emerged among Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists on how to respond to the local government's invitation to discuss the next step for political reform, which threatens to weaken their ability to influence the final result.

The pro-democracy movement has long found its strength in its principled insistence that Hong Kong needs and deserves popular elections to pick its political leaders - many of whom, including the chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa, are now chosen by small groups of Beijing loyalists and businesses.

But deciding on the precise path to direct elections by universal suffrage has proved more difficult. Though the terms for the next chief executive and legislature begin in 2007 and 2008, China's Communist leadership has already said it won't permit direct elections so early. While democracy advocates say their goals haven't changed, the local government is now trying to come up with some transitional reforms.

"The pan-democratic camp still insists we should have universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008," said Stephen Lam, Hong Kong's secretary for constitutional affairs. "We respect their aspirations for democracy, but those of us in public affairs need to respect the constitutional framework. Beijing has already ruled it out."

"Shouldn't we consider how we can further improve the method of election, and move the political system closer to universal suffrage which is the final goal?" Lam said at a conference Saturday. "Politics is the art of the possible."

Yet stalwarts like Democratic Party Chairman Yeung Sum and veteran lawmaker Emily Lau continue to argue that only complete universal suffrage is a solution to Hong Kong's political malaise, and won't publicly discuss settling for anything less.

That reluctance to consider other possibilities has allowed politicians who have never shown much enthusiasm for democracy to paint themselves as more forward-thinking than the Democratic Party.

"If we don't come up with some new options, we may be left with the same old system, and I don't think anybody wants that," said Miriam Lau, vice-chairwoman of the pro-business Liberal Party.

And some pro-democracy groups do think that it might be possible to make some improvements to the current, much-despised system in 2007 and 2008 - even if those changes must, as China insists, fall short of true universal suffrage.

"We should take this chance to ensure that progress is made," said Yip Yan-yan of Civic Exchange, a local think thank.

Her group, along with many others on all sides of the debate, have already submitted a variety of proposed electoral changes to the government. Administration officials plan to publish a document outlining possible options by the end of this year, and then try to come up with a consensus proposal by the middle of 2005.

Lam, the secretary for constitutional affairs, said most suggestions involved three areas: increasing the size of the Election Committee, the 800-strong body that chooses the chief executive; adding new seats to the 60-strong Legislative Council; and allowing a wider slice of the population to vote for those seats now chosen by business and professional groups.

But the government hasn't committed to a timetable for introducing universal suffrage, which makes some suspect the interim measures will just be a tactic for delaying real political change.

Margaret Ng, a pro-democracy legislator, said many of the changes that have been proposed are just "futile" and wouldn't result in any concrete change in how the government operates. Others, however, see at least a chance for reforms to increase the public's participation.

George Cautherley, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, said he believes administration officials are genuinely open to suggestions - if only because China's leadership is worried about unrest if some response to the public's demands for reform isn't made.

"I think they have got a message that they have to come up with some new ideas, because we don't to see half a million people in the streets again in July," he said.

-By Andrew Batson, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002; andrew.batson@dowjones.com

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