The next district council (DC) elections will be held on Dec 10. These will be the first DC elections under the new system installed by the District Councils (Amendment) Ordinance 2023, which has reshaped the DCs with the purpose of improving district-level governance, putting “patriots administering Hong Kong” into practice, achieving high-quality democracy, facilitating the effective implementation of government policies, and enhancing district-level services to better serve residents, thus contributing to the achievement of good governance and maintaining long-term stability and prosperity in Hong Kong.
The successful completion of the upcoming DC elections will contribute to the improvement of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s overall governance, catapulting Hong Kong’s socioeconomic development to a new stage, which will be a milestone in the implementation of “one country, two systems”.
There is no doubt that the sixth-term DCs returned in 2019 were hijacked by the anti-China agitators and used as a tool to obstruct the HKSAR government’s lawful administration with the ultimate objective of subverting the HKSAR’s political system. Until the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL) was promulgated in June 2020, a large number of members of the sixth-term DCs, who were invariably affiliated to the “mutual destruction camp”, had engaged in unruly behavior and stunts that were in contravention of the intended functions of DCs as consultative bodies on district-level issues, rendering most DCs dysfunctional.
With the implementation of the NSL in June 2020, many of those unruly DC members have resigned under various excuses, as the deterrent effects of the NSL kicked in. Meanwhile, many of their peers who did not take their oaths of office in an appropriate manner were disqualified. As a result, more than 300 DC members were either disqualified or have resigned, leaving only one-third of the original 479 DC members to continue to perform their duties.
The sixth-term DCs can be described as the most dysfunctional ones, with the anti-China instigators playing a “Trojan horse” role and relentlessly creating political disputes. As a result, people’s livelihoods further deteriorated as district-level improvement programs came to a standstill, Hong Kong society was seriously split, and residents suffered not only in terms of livelihood hardship but also mentally.
In a sense, the NSL came to the rescue, which has helped effectively restore peace and order in the city by reversing the course of events and rooting out some of the sources of political disputes.
The upcoming DC elections under the new election mechanism will essentially depoliticize the DCs by restoring their original functions as nonpolitical consultative bodies on district-level issues that are tasked to assist the executive branch of the government in implementing district-level livelihood measures. With these root-level administrative organs functioning normally, district-level administration will improve, while district-specific policies will be implemented more effectively. Ultimately, the HKSAR’s overall governance system, governance capacity and effectiveness of governance will greatly improve. The depoliticization of DCs will also help strengthen the executive-led system by enhancing the efficiency and overall strength of the executive branch. It will also help the HKSAR better safeguard national security and promote patriotism by removing a major hotbed of political agitations.
The new electoral system will ensure good governance, which is the ultimate objective of a democratic system
Patterned on the Legislative Council and chief executive elections, a vetting system has been introduced in the DC election mechanism to ensure that “patriots administering Hong Kong” will be reflected in their composition. For the new DCs of 18 districts, a total of 470 councilors will be returned by four methods at a ratio of 4-4-2. The chief executive will appoint 179 seats on the principle of appointment by merit for competent patriots (e.g., professionals or important stakeholders in the districts); 176 seats will be filled by councilors who will be elected by members of the “three committees” of the districts (i.e., the District Fight Crime Committee, the District Fire Safety Committee and the Area Committee), and who will be expected to take into account the interests of the districts as a whole and to strengthen the links between these three district committees and the DCs; and 88 seats will be filled by councilors who will be directly elected by the voters in each district, and who are expected to have a broader perspective to be able to handle district issues with comprehensive thinking. Additionally, there will be 27 ex officio seats that are to be taken up by the chairmen of the New Territories Rural Committees, which is an existing arrangement.
The new DC election mechanism also provides for “double insurance”: The district officers, the top representative of the HKSAR government at the district level, will serve as the chairpeople of all DCs. A monitoring system on the performance of DC members has also been introduced, under which investigations will be conducted into those DC members whose behavior fails to meet public expectations, and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the gravity of the case.
Past experience tells a plain truth: “One country, two systems” can run smoothly and serve its purpose only when the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” is in place. Under the new electoral system, Hong Kong has held elections for the Election Committee, the seventh-term Legislative Council and the sixth-term chief executive, which were all successful. The new electoral system has played a crucial role in ensuring “patriots administering Hong Kong” and creating a political landscape favorable to social harmony and unity that are crucial to the city’s long-term stability and prosperity.
The new electoral system will ensure good governance, which is the ultimate objective of a democratic system. It is also in line with the principle of “one country, two systems”, the actual situation in Hong Kong and the needs of Hong Kong’s socioeconomic development, and is designed to safeguard the nation’s sovereignty, security and development interests, as well as the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and thus must be supported and upheld.
Hong Kong residents can have high hopes for the new DCs as the majority of candidates are high-caliber professionals or people who have served the local communities for a long time, and who can leverage their expertise to help tackle the city’s livelihood issues and deep-seated problems. They are also patriots who will adhere to and uphold the principle of “one country, two systems”, and who can contribute to the long-term stability and prosperity of Hong Kong. For the sake of all residents’ well-being as well as their own, all eligible voters should cast their votes on Dec 10.
The author is a law professor, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, and vice president of the Hong Kong Basic Law Education Association.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
