Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has unveiled a proposal on district council reform, which will certainly be conducive to reaching good governance at the district level.
We can recall the chaos inflicted on district councils back in 2019, which caused a continuous nightmare, with district councilors abusing their roles in calling for Hong Kong independence; we saw nothing but disruptive behavior in district councils, jeopardizing national security, with actions taken to incite hatred of the police and the central and HKSAR governments.
It’s time for district councils to get back on track, to remain as a consultative body focusing on district affairs. The reform will enable them to do so, while effectively safeguarding national security. We learned a painful lesson from the riots in 2019. An effective mechanism must be in place to carry out proper screening of candidates, to implement the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, and to safeguard national security.
READ MORE: HK announces detailed plan to reform district councils
Under the proposed reform, district councils will be formed by appointed members, members indirectly elected by area committee members, and members elected in direct elections. We are of the view that such a mixed formation will be conducive to good governance at district level, enabling the government to invite high-caliber patriots to join district councils, and will avoid populism.
Take Legislative Council as an example. The executive-legislative relationship has significantly improved since our election system for LegCo was optimized. We no longer see the animosity and hatred incited by LegCo members in the old days; new members elected by election committee members act diligently in the course of performing their duties, and they consider the overall interests of Hong Kong when dealing with various issues. We are able to get things done under the new improved LegCo election system.
By demonizing the reform, they simply rule out the ultimate aim of the reform – which is, good governance – and they focus on playing up the “one-person, one-vote” issue
It must be pointed out that no political system is universally applicable.
“One-person, one-vote” direct elections do not solve every problem, and are by no means as sacred as Western media and pundits claim. The flip side to such a system is that populism can arise through direct elections, and hatred can be incited within the public.
READ MORE: District council overhaul finalizes revamping of governance structure
It is worth noting that in the past, the opposition as well as Western media spared no effort to demonize any election system other than the “one-person, one-vote” system, and they instigated a lot of hatred against the central government, causing our city to become heavily divided. This helped stoke the flames of the illegal Occupy Central movement, plus the mayhem in 2019. It is time for us to understand the truth: that hostile foreign forces might be keen to see such hatred, polarization, and political disputes in our city, which can be weaponized to cause harm to China.
When I come across familiar narratives of critics these days, those who condemn the reduction in seats for direct election under the proposed district council reform, I wonder, what is their motive for doing so? By demonizing the reform, they simply rule out the ultimate aim of the reform – which is, good governance – and they focus on playing up the “one-person, one-vote” issue.
When designing a political system, it must suit the actual circumstances, and in Hong Kong, it must suit “one country, two systems”. We trust that the reformed district councils, as genuine consultative bodies, can better serve the public.
The author is vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, and a member of the Legislative Council.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
