As Political Tempers Rise, Hong Kong Headed For a ‘Long Hot Summer’
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/06/19/as-political-tempers-rise-hong
-kong-headed-for-a-long-hot-summer/
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Amid heated political debate over universal suffrage and looming protests sc
heduled for July 1, Hong Kong is set for a “very long hot summer,” says a
former high-ranking official.
That’s the forecast from Anson Chan, who served as Hong Kong chief secretar
y between 1993 and 2001 and has continued to serve as a vocal advocate of el
ectoral reform and press freedom.
Political tensions in Hong Kong have been rising, with two pro-democracy web
sites hit by cyberattacks yesterday. Last week, Beijing also issued a blunt
reminder to the city effectively saying that it was in charge, stirring fier
ce oppositions in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese contr
ol in 1997.
Such a reminder, which came in the form of a white paper, “caused a great d
eal of unease and has made some people really angry,” the 74-year-old Mrs.
Chan said in an interview with China Real Time. Though Hong Kong continues
to maintain its own political and economic systems under the “one country,
two systems” principle that governs its relationship with China, Ms. Chan s
aid that Beijing’s white paper appears to threaten such independence.
Beijing’s white paper was issued just ahead of Hong Kong’s annual pro-demo
cracy march on July 1, and also comes as pro-democracy organizers prepare to
hold an informal city-wide referendum asking Hong Kong residents to vote fo
r electoral reform. The referendum, organized by a protest group “Occupy C
entral,” has also threatened to launch a civil-disobedience campaign that w
ould shut down Hong Kong’s financial district if the group’s demands for u
niversal suffrage aren’t met.
At the moment, Hong Kong’s chief executive is chosen by a 1,200-member comm
ittee composed largely of pro-Beijing and business camps.
This week, Ms. Chan said the white paper was likely to provoke tempers to ri
se even further during the July 1 march, calling it a “total failure of a P
R tactic.”
“I’m afraid it would push some of moderates into feeling that they have to
take more extreme action,” says Ms. Chan.
“I expect it will be a very long hot summer this year.”
Former top Chinese official Zhou Nan added further fire to the flames last w
eek when he said that the People’s Liberation Army might be called upon to
suppress any potential riots in Hong Kong. “[The party] would not allow Hon
g Kong to turn into a base to subvert China’s socialist regime under the gu
ise of democracy,” Mr. Zhou said.
Still, Ms. Chan said that the threat posed by Occupy Central could readily d
ealt with. “We can avoid Occupy Central very easily if the Hong Kong govern
ment and Beijing perform what is supposed to be doing: Give us a set of fair
universal suffrage proposal that conforms with the Basic Law and conforms w
ith the international definition of universal suffrage. No more, no less,”
she said.
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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.And the earth was
without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.And God said,
Let there be light: and there was light.
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※ 編輯: yqhyou (198.211.56.4), 06/23/2014 17:22:02