Singapore and Hong Kong: Comparative Perspectives

On the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong's Handover to China

Institute of Advanced Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

• Publisher: WSPC
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9789813237940
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Development Economics
• Index: Economics

Political, social and economic transformations have marked the 20 years since Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of China. To mark the historic handover, the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) at Nanyang Technological University invited experts from various fields to share their unique insights on the developments and impact of the last 20 years on Hong Kong and Singapore in a conference in Singapore.

This volume is a compilation of speeches and presentations delivered at the conference by such heavyweight experts as Wang Gungwu, Antony Leung and Yang Jinlin on the road travelled and the paths ahead for both cities. This volume is an invaluable collection on Hong Kong and Singapore's past, present and future. Readers can enjoy the salient analysis delivered with great thought and reflective humour.

Contents:

• Singapore and Hong Kong: Historical Images (WANG Gungwu)
• Two Pearls on the Maritime Silk Road: A Tale of Two Competing Cities: The Lion City is Leading, What Should Hong Kong Do? (Antony LEUNG)
• Hong Kong and Singapore: No More Mirror Image of Each Other? (John WONG)
• Problems and Challenges for Hong Kong and Singapore (KER Sin Tze)
• Shenzhen–Hong Kong: Review and Outlook (GUO Wanda)
• 深港“双城记” 回顾与展望 (郭万达)
• Singapore and Hong Kong Should Firmly Grasp New Development Opportunities in China (LIANG Hai Ming)
• 新加坡与香港应该紧握中国发展新机遇 (梁海明)
• Democracy in Hong Kong (LAW, Sai Kit Alex)
• Public and Private Partnerships: Strategies for the 'Belt and Road Initiative' (YAN Houmin)
• Potential and Inertia in the Development of Hong Kong and Singapore: The Next 20 Years (YANG Jinlin)
• 双城记的未来二十年—香港与新加坡发展的高度与限度 (杨锦麟)
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Twins Basking in a Chinese Presence (FENG Da Hsuan)

Readership: Politics and economics undergraduates, general public.Hong Kong;Handover;Economy;Singapore00

Democracy in Hong Kong¹

LAW, Sai Kit Alex

Professor LAW, Sai Kit Alex was born in Hong Kong. He obtained his BSc degree in Physics from Caltech in 1972, and Ph.D. degree in Biology from Harvard University in 1978. After three years at the Washington University Medical School at St. Louis, he joined Professor Rodney Porter’s MRC (Medical Research Council) Immunochemistry Unit in the University of Oxford, UK in 1981. He became a full member of the MRC Immunochemistry Unit in 1986. In 2002 he joined Nanyang Technological University in Singapore as a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences (SBS). At NTU, he served as Associate Chair of Research in SBS (2002–2010), Acting Chair of SBS (2008–2011), and the Director of the Double Degree Programme in Biomedical Sciences and Chinese Medicine (2012–2016). His major research work was on proteins of the immune system. He retired at the end of 2016 and now lives in Hong Kong.

According to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, Hong Kong was to be returned to China on 1 July 1997 to become the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). For the 50 years that followed, HKSAR, as an “inalienable” part of the PRC, was to be administered under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle. The HKSAR government would be able to exercise a high degree of autonomy and enjoy the executive, legislative and independent judicial power. In addition, Hong Kong would be allowed to steer towards democracy in a gradual and orderly manner, with no pre-determined time-line and scope on the move towards democracy. It is therefore appropriate to take stock and assess the progress towards democracy after 20 years into the 50 years span.

Democracy

First, let me make two general points about democracy:

(1)Democracy is not the only acceptable and workable form of government. Indeed, many countries that practice democracy are not doing so well.

(2)Democracy has many versions and different countries would practice their own versions.

I shall also make one point about democracy, specifically on Hong Kong:

(3)Hong Kong is not a country. It is a Special Administrative Region under the People’s Republic of China. Democracy in HKSAR can only be operated within this confinement.

Democracy in Hong Kong before 1997

Hong Kong did not have democracy when under the British rule. At a broad stroke, everyone and anyone of significance in government were appointed by the British, officially by the Monarch, and it had been Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II since her coronation in 1953. This was clearly the situation up till the early 1990s.

Hong Kong became a British colony in three phases. Hong Kong Island (香港岛) was ceded to the British in the Treaty of Nanking after the First Opium War in 1842, followed by the Kowloon Peninsula (九龙半岛) and Stonecutters Island (昂船洲) by the Convention of Peking after the Second Opium War in 1860. The British also acquired the New Territories (新界) through a “lease” under the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory for 99 years in 1898. The bulk of the New Territories include the land mass adjoining the mainland, and about 400 islands of various sizes, the largest of which is the Lantau Island (大屿山) where the current Chek Lap Kok Airport (赤腊角机场) is located. When we refer to Hong Kong now, it is these combined territories.

In the late 1970s, Deng Xiaoping (邓小平) came to power, and began to steer China away from the accumulated chaos of the Great Leap Forward (大跃进), the Cultural Revolution (文化大革命), and the Gang of Four (四人帮), and onto the path of “recovery”. In the historic meeting in 1984 in Beijing, he was able to negotiate with Margaret Thatcher (撒切尔夫人), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom then, on the return of Hong Kong to China. The formal document was the Sino-British Joint Declaration (中英联合声明), with the main point being the handover of Hong Kong back to China on 1 July 1997. In Deng Xiaoping’s view, as well as many Chinese, it was a move to “right the wrongs” of the unequal treaties resulted in the British rule in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region of the PRC (中华人民共和国香港特別行政区). The big hurdle was to decide on how HKSAR was to be governed after the handover. It was clear that to parachute the socialist system of China to Hong Kong would be disastrous. Thus the concept of “One Country, Two Systems” (一国两制) was born. Hong Kong was to keep its capitalistic economy and continue with its “modern” lifestyle, which was encapsulated in Deng Xiaoping’s own words in Chinese “马照跑, 舞照跳!”, with the English translation: “Keep on racing, keep on dancing!”

1.Hong Kong government structure

In order to make this article easier to follow, I shall briefly describe the government structure and the political parties of HKSAR. The Head of the HKSAR government is the Chief Executive (行政长官, also colloquially referred to as 特首). He or she is to be elected locally and then appointed by the Central People’s Government (中央人民政府).

The Executive Council (行政会议), namely the Government of HKSAR, include the three Departments of Administration, Finance, and Justice, as well as various bureaux, divisions, and commissions. Heads are appointed by the Chief Executive.

The Legislative Council (立法会) is to enact laws and oversee government policies. Members are elected locally. Currently there are 70 members in the Legislative Council.

At present, there are no less than 35 political parties in Hong Kong. These political parties may be divided into three basic camps. In the beginning there were two: the pro-democracy camp, later known collectively as the “pan-democrats”, or simply “pan-dems” (泛民), and the pro-establishment camp (建制派). The “pan-dems” pushed for rapid democratization, whereas the pro-establishment camp took a more gradual route and were willing to work with Central Peoples’ Government in Beijing. Then in 2015, a splinter camp emerged from the “pan-dems” who wanted to go all-the-way to independence. They are the localists or separatists (本土派). Collectively, together with the “pan-dems”, they are now known as the anti-establishment camp (非建制派).

In this article, I will focus on the elections of the Chief Executive and members of the Legislative Council and the stance of the three political camps on these elections as a measure of the progress of democracy in Hong Kong.

2.Basic Law² (基本法) relating to democracy

The Basic Law of HKSAR was devised to provide some guidelines on how Hong Kong was to be run. It was enacted by the National People’s Congress (全国人民代表大会) in 1990, and was to be put into effect after its handover on 1 July 1997.

The crux of the Basic Law was to assure, without unequivocal terms, that HKSAR is an inalienable part of the PRC (Article 1), and that HKSAR is to exercise a high degree of autonomy and enjoy the executive, legislative and independent judicial power (Article 2).

3.Selection and election of the Chief Executive and members of the Legislative Council

In addition, Hong Kong was permitted to steer towards democracy. The selection processes of the Chief Executive and members of the Legislative Council may be decided eventually by universal suffrage (Articles 45 and 68). However, if and when the progress of democracy reaches this stage, how the candidates are to be nominated are not spelled out. In addition, no specific target date was set for the implementation of universal suffrage, but with a clause that the progress towards these aims is to be “gradual and orderly” (循序渐进).

It is reasonable not to spell out everything in detail in the Basic Law. The “One Country, Two Systems” is a novel concept of government never tried out anywhere before. Therefore, built-in flexibility features are necessary to give it room to adjust when needed.

4.The Legislative Council election in 1991

With the Basic Law in place, Hong Kong, while still a British colony, was able to conduct election for members of the Legislative Council for the first time in 1991. Of the 59 members, 39 were elected (of which 18 were elected from Geographical Constituencies and 21 from Functional Constituencies),³ 17 appointed by the Governor, and 3 ex-officio (the Chief Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Financial Secretary), with the Governor as President of the Council.

The significance of this election can be seen in three ways: (i) it was the first time that the people of Hong Kong had a vote; (ii) Hong Kong was still under British rule; and (iii) China saw no objection in allowing the election to take place, i.e. the Central People’s Government did not object to the move towards democracy.

5.The accident in the British general election in 1992

Then there was the “accident” in 1992. There was a general election in the United Kingdom and the Conservative Party won, and John Major (马卓安) was returned as Prime Minister. Chris Patten (彭定康), who was the Chairman of the Conservative Party, was credited for masterminding the general election win. The accident was that he lost, rather unexpectedly, in his own constituency, Bath. He was therefore not able to retain his seat in parliament.

At the time, David Wilson (卫奕信), as the Governor of Hong Kong, and Percy Cradock (柯利达), as Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister, were heavily involved with the Chinese to iron out the details of the handover. They were judged to have made too many concessions to Beijing. John Major decided to replace David Wilson with Chris Patten, who was to become the Last Governor of Hong Kong. Percy Cradock was later relieved from his positions in the Foreign Office, both as the Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister, and as the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

6.Chris Patten’s Legislative Council electoral reform in 1994 and its consequences

Chris Patten pushed for more and immediate democracy, and introduced a series of electoral reforms of the Legislative Council that would include (i) the elimination of the appointments by the Governor, (ii) the expansion of the electoral base; and (iii) the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18. He succeeded in pushing these changes through government by the narrowest of margins, and these changes were adopted in the Legislative Council Election in 1995.

These changes did not please the Central People’s Government in Beijing since Chris Patten apparently did not consult with them. In addition, whereas the election of members of Legislative Council in 1991 was an acceptable “gradual move” towards democracy within the confines of the Basic Law, the reforms put forth by Chris Patten were too abrupt.

Over and over again, it is these undefined terms in the Basic Law that become the contentious points over which the political debates and arguments focus on in later years.

Election of the Chief Executive

The procedure for selecting the first Chief Executive must take place before the handover on 1 July 1997 so that he/she can assume duty immediately. The procedure was spelled out in detail in Annex I of the Basic Law. Briefly, the Election Committee was composed of 800 members representing various sectors in Hong Kong. The Chief Executive was to be elected with a one-person-one-vote by members of this committee. In anticipation of possible changes in the future, as the eventual aim was to have universal suffrage as stated in Article 45, provisions were in place for this method to be amended. However, there would be no change before 2007. After that, amendments could be made, but would require the endorsement of a two-third majority in the Legislative Council, followed by the approval of the Chief Executive, then the approval of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC，全国人民代表大会常务委员会).

In 2007, the NPCSC ruled out universal suffrage for the election of the Chief Executive of the HKSAR in 2012, but it may be implemented in 2017. In 2010, an amendment was proposed and accepted to have the membership of the Election Committee to expand from 800 to 1200 fo...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Historical Images
• Two Pearls on the Maritime Silk Road: A Tale of Two Competing Cities: The Lion City is Leading, What Should Hong Kong Do?
• Hong Kong and Singapore: No More Mirror Image of Each Other?
• Problems and Challenges for Hong Kong and Singapore
• Shenzhen–Hong Kong: Review and Outlook
• 深港 “双城记”: 回顾与展望
• Singapore and Hong Kong Should Firmly Grasp New Development Opportunities in China
• 新加坡与香港应该紧握中国发展新机遇
• Democracy in Hong Kong
• Public and Private Partnerships: Strategies for the “Belt and Road Initiative”
• Potential and Inertia in the Development of Hong Kong and Singapore: The Next 20 Years
• 双城记的未来二十年——香港与新加坡发展的高度与限度
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Twins Basking in a Chinese Presence