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Beijing's view of the universal suffrage issue in Hong Kong- Shiu Sin-Por, head of the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

11/16/2012

Shiu Sin-Por says the irony of the matter is that the issue arose when the Chinese government agreed in 2014 to accept universal suffrage for Hong Kong's citizens. The problem for the Democracy protest movement is the restriction that all candidates be acceptable to Beijing. Sin-Por cites as reason for this restriction as China's need for national security so that goals of national development can be achieved. China new government has serious economic challenges. Would it be easier and more certain with the lack of true Hong Kong sentiment being reflected in a fully open vote? There are risks for the Communist Party but these may be small compared to the benefits to the Communist Party of being able to get voter sentiment especially when there is no way to guage sentiment on the mainland. It is also consistent with the relationship China has sought with the U.S., Europe and Japan since 1990 for openness in the economy, technology transfers and foreign investment, which are even more important for China's next phase of development to transition into an advanced technological society- more important than in the first where basic technologies could be adopted easily. It is too small a price even for the cited "national security," as national security of China is better accomplished with continued technological progress through openness and contact with western society and institutions. The years in Li Keqiang's early personal development which he spent reading and studying about western institutions is itself proof about its lasting value to China. This kind of openness would be a fitting way to honor Gong Xiangrui, a professor of Li Keqiang, who also advocated this kind of openness to ideas, and which provided inspiration to Li to move China's development to the next stage. Jiang Zemin also took risks as he experimented with new ideas as Mayor of Shanghai, and later as president, the risks were small compared to the opportunities that came up in the process.

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