Hong Kong Elections Marked by Scandal, Corruption and Unrest
By Alicia Burns
Sep 13, 2004
oters in Hong Kong went to the polls on September 12th to vote for its Legislative Council (LegCo) representatives. Voter turnout set a record, with 1.78 million votes cast of 3.2 million eligible voters, according to Asia News. Observers noted suspicious activity at some polling stations, such as full ballot boxes early in the day, the New York Times reported. Democratic candidates received fewer votes than expected, although they did win 24 of 60 possible seats, a net gain of 3 seats. The results surprised many international observers, given the large pro-democracy protests that occurred over the summer concerning Beijing’s more aggressive displays of force in the past few months. However, if one takes into account Hong Kong’s still strong economy and the recent scandals that have beleaguered the province’s democratic party, the results of Sunday’s election make more sense.
In August, LegCo candidate Alex Ho was arrested for allegedly hiring a prostitute on the mainland, and days before the election Beijing authorities released compromising photos of the candidate related to his arrest. Not surprisingly, Mr. Ho lost his election, according to The Age.
Additionally, candidate James To allegedly abused government funds by misrepresenting the cost of a subsidized apartment, according to Channel News Asia. Hong Kong democrats accuse mainland authorities of using “dirty tricks” to manipulate the election, according to Fred Li. “China wants to harm the name of the Democrats and it is the only organization big enough to orchestrate something so large… The press is so biased. We expected this sort of thing to happen and we expect much more to come but it still gets to you," he told Channel News Asia.
Accusations of mainland interference do not stop with dirty campaigning, however. According to the Economist, some voters were pressured by gangsters working for Beijing to photograph their ballots after casting their vote to ensure they voted correctly. Allegedly, the gangsters threatened to hurt their families, or harm their careers. As reported by the Economist, Human Rights Watch released a report in early September, titled “A Question of Patriotism: Human Rights and Democratization in Hong Kong,” claiming 2004 to be the worst year for democracy in Hong Kong since the British handover in 1997. Back in May, Albert Chen, Raymond Wong and Alan Lee resigned their positions as pro-democracy radio talk show hosts after being threatened by mainland supporters. According to the Human Rights Watch report, voters reported similar intimidation tactics at that time as well, with some citizens calling into radio shows hosted by men like Chen, Wong, and Lee. “One caller said that he was told to take a picture of his ballot with his mobile phone, and that if he failed to do so, his business would suffer,” the HRW report alleges.
China Daily, a government-sponsored newspaper, predictably praised the outcome of the election, saying, “A record number of voters turned out for Sunday's Legislative Council (LegCo) elections reshaping the contours of Hong Kong's political landscape in favor of political parties advocating stability and prosperity.” The article quoted mainland politicians who praised the effectiveness of the “One Country, Two Systems” policy China has employed since the 1997 handover. Chen Zuo’er, the PRC’s Deputy Director of Hong Kong and Macau State Affairs told the newspaper, “It again shows …`Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong' and `a high degree of autonomy' have been implemented … and Hong Kong people are masters of their own destiny.”
Unfortunately, in the past year, Hong Kong’s citizens have lost much of the autonomy promised to them by officials in Beijing. On April 26th, when citizens protested the mainland’s announcement to reverse a promise to institute direct elections and universal suffrage for the President in 2007 and LegCo in 2008, citizens protested. According to Ted Galen Carpenter of the Cato Institute, after the peaceful protest, Beijing put on a “less than subtle” show of force by parading military ships through the province’s harbor. The government’s actions in the spring were simply the continuation of a year of unrest in Hong Kong, beginning with a peaceful protest in July 2003. The march was organized after pro-Beijing authorities proposed “Amendment 23” to Hong Kong’s Basic Law (the constitution) to suppress basic freedoms in favor of national security concerns. Coupled with the SARS crisis and the anniversary of the British handover, the July protest had approximately 500,000 participants, according to Human Rights Watch. The September 12th elections follow the general pattern set in the past year of action and counteraction between pro-democracy Hong Kong and the communist mainland.
|
|
