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Election must abide by rule of law

Updated: 2014-09-10 07:45

By Zhang Dinghuai(China Daily)

Nominating Committee for selection of HK's chief executive candidates as set out in the Basic Law best suits current conditions

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has explicated the method for the election of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's chief executive in 2017 through universal suffrage. On Aug 31, it ruled that all candidates for chief executive must receive more than half of the votes from the Nominating Committee before they are put forward for election.

Given the bitter arguments over constitutional reform in Hong Kong, there are still questions lingering over the NPC Standing Committee rule. Actually there are two different views about how to select candidates for Hong Kong's chief executive through universal suffrage. One view proposes that the Basic Law, which came into effect 17 years ago, clearly stipulates the relevant procedures for the election of the chief executive by universal suffrage, and universal suffrage should remain within the bounds set by the Basic Law. This view has continuous consistency. The central government actively supports this view and hopes that the development of the democratic political system in Hong Kong will move forward based on this.

The other view holds that universal suffrage based on the Basic Law is not true universal suffrage, because the procedure whereby the Nominating Committee decides which tow or three candidates are put forward for the election will "eliminate" the pan-democracy candidates. They insist on implementing what they call "true democracy" according to a so-called international standard. But this view disregards the relevant regulations of the Basic Law.

According to the current system, the constitutional reform of electing Hong Kong's chief executive by universal suffrage can be implemented only when more than two-thirds of the Hong Kong Legislative Council members approve the reform plan. The members of the Hong Kong pan-democracy group are the key minority in Legislative Council. If they use their veto during the Legislative Council's vote, it is possible that the election of Hong Kong's chief executive by universal suffrage will end in no result.

The reason that the central government does not accept the Hong Kong pan-democrats' so-called international standard of party nomination or civil nomination and insists that the chief executive candidates should be nominated by the Nominating Committee is because it is a procedural requirement that is clearly defined in the Basic Law. Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law. If the central government does not adhere to the procedure stipulated by the Basic Law, it violates the principle of rule of law, which will not gain recognition in Hong Kong. Strictly following the Basic Law is the only choice to respect the principle of rule of law in Hong Kong.

Also, letting the Nominating Committee nominate the chief executive candidates is a principle that we have to adhere to in order to guarantee Hong Kong is run by people who love the country and love Hong Kong, and it will avoid the social disruption that would be caused by the so-called party nomination advanced by Hong Kong pan-democracy group according to their vague international standard. At present, there is a stark political division in Hong Kong, namely the pro-central government and anti-central government camps. The so-called party nomination put forward by the anti-central government camp will only turn the universal suffrage into competition between pro-central government forces and the anti-central government forces, which will severely undermine the cause of "One Country, Two Systems".

Letting the Nominating Committee nominate the candidates for the chief executive election will avoid extremists from becoming candidates. The so-called civil nomination advocated by the Hong Kong pan-democracy group would possibly harm national security interests. Under the circumstance that the Legislative Council fails to live up to the central government's expectation of legislation that guarantees national security, this way of nomination will probably result in a candidate that goes against the central government. How can the central government appoint such a candidate? This will be the so-called constitutional crisis.

The Nominating Committee mechanism will prevent Hong Kong from stepping toward populism. A potential defect of democratic politics is the possibility of populism, which can easily lead to mob rule. The Nominating Committee mechanism shows institutional rationality, which stems from the diversity of the committee. Hong Kong is a region that has developed business and financial sectors but lacks resources. We have to consider the various interests of the business and financial sectors if we want to maintain the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. Hence, populism in the name of democracy and excessive welfare will only harm Hong Kong society.

Based on the above-mentioned reasons, the Nominating Committee mechanism is the most appropriate procedure for Hong Kong, which although a special region with a high degree of autonomy, is still under the jurisdiction of China. The political relationship between the central authorities and Hong Kong determines that the central authorities have indubitable dominance over the development of Hong Kong's constitutional system. However, some people in Hong Kong do not want to face this political relationship, which is the root cause of the emerging problems in universal suffrage.

The author is a professor of Shenzhen University and member of Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

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