Hong Kong People Governing Hong Kong
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Two localist lawmakers urged Hong Kong to ‘insulate’ itself from the mainland at Taipei seminar But call from Hong Kong’s Youngspiration duo may only further anger Beijingv
Two localist lawmakers who had their swearing-in oaths for the Legislative Council invalidated called on Saturday for Hong Kong to “insulate” itself from the mainland. Although they stopped short of openly advocating independence for Hong Kong at a seminar in Taipei, the latest comments by Youngspiration’s Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang and Yau Wai-ching could further antagonise Beijing. China’s leaders are wary of any “collusion” between separatist forces in Hong Kong, Taiwan and even Tibet and Xinjiang. The pair ignored warnings by leading Beijing loyalists that the Taiwan trip was “making matters worse”. Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, the city’s only delegate to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, warned that Beijing might back a trusted candidate for next year’s chief executive election regardless of his or her unpopularity, if independence talk continued to gather steam. That was seen as a reference to incumbent Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, although she did not specify. “The central government has considered Leung trustworthy since the Occupy movement [in 2014],” she said. Baggio Leung and Yau said they accepted the invitation to attend the Taipei forum on Hong Kong’s localist movement before they took their oaths on Oct 12, when they offended Chinese sentiment by referring to the city as a “nation” and held up banners stating: “Hong Kong is not China.” “We also met a few friends here but we had no party-to-party level meetings,” Leung said, adding that he did not meet the island’s pro-independence New Power Party or ruling Democratic Progressive Party . The event they attended was organised by the Graduate Student Association of the National Taiwan University, and was attended by about 60 university students and reporters. While the two were relatively cautious with their remarks, Ray Wong Toi-yeung from localist group Hong Kong Indigenous, who spoke alongside them, declared that independence was the only solution for Hong Kong. “If the seeds of separatism can be planted in mainland China … the communist regime could be overthrown sooner,” he said, adding that it would help if other mainland provinces would also start discussing independence. Fan warned that their Taiwan trip would “make the situation even worse”. She made it clear she did not wish to see Leung and Yau assume office as legislators after their behaviour in Legco. In a television interview on Saturday, executive councillor Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee also warned that Beijing could issue a white paper stating what constituted secession before local courts ruled on the government-initiated judicial review of Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen’s decision to allow the duo to retake their oaths. Baggio Leung said this would again highlight how Beijing could “bend the rules whenever the outcome is unfavourable” under the “one country, two systems” policy of governing Hong Kong. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said on Friday that it would closely monitor the controversy sparked by Yau and Leung’s oath-taking, and urged the Hong Kong government to safeguard the city’s autonomy. The Hong Kong government responded by telling Taiwan to stay out of the city’s internal affairs.
Hong Kong: Why there is chaos in parliament
From swearing to throwing luncheon meat, unprecedented scenes have been playing out in Hong Kong's lawmaking body - the Legislative Council. On Wednesday, dozens of lawmakers staged a walk-out ahead of a second attempt to swear in newly elected pro-independence lawmakers. On the surface, the row is over the oath lawmakers have to take. But it has brought to the fore the deep divisions between those who accept and those challenging Chinese control. What exactly is the problem with the oath? Hong Kong has been governed under the "one country, two systems" principle since it was returned to China in 1997. It means that Hong Kong enjoys certain freedoms not granted to mainland Chinese, but crucially its leader is selected by a mostly pro-Beijing committee. But in September, two members of the new political party Youngspiration were elected to the LegCo. They identify themselves as "localists", a movement which objects to what followers see as a gradual encroachment of mainland China in Hong Kong politics and culture. These Youngspiration MPs are at the more extreme end of that, and want total independence for Hong Kong. So they decided they could not swear the oath in its current form, which is this: "I swear that, being a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, I will uphold the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, bear allegiance to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and serve the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region conscientiously, dutifully, in full accordance with the law, honestly and with integrity." So what did they do instead? Last Wednesday, when Sixtus Leung, 30, and Yau Wai-ching, 25 were being sworn in, they altered the oath to reflect that they do not accept Hong Kong as a territory of China. They swore while saying it and provocatively mispronounced China. They pledged allegiance to the "Hong Kong nation" and held up a banner that said "Hong Kong is not China". Amid a furore in the LegCo chamber, their oaths were deemed invalid by legislative officials, and the swearing-in was put back a week. So far so chaotic. So then what? The government launched an unprecedented legal attempt to delay Mr Leung and Ms Yau's swearing in until a judicial review. On Tuesday, the High Court rejected the request for a delay, paving the way for them to be sworn in on Wednesday. But it did agree to a judicial review. However, on Wednesday dozens of pro-Beijing lawmakers staged a walk-out before Mr Leung and Ms Yau were sworn in, demanding that the duo apologise for "insulting our motherland". One of them, Holden Chow, told the BBC: "(Mr Leung and Ms Yau) have really gone too far. They actually provoked a lot of Hong Kong people. And also they are simply provoking all Chinese people so they do owe us an apology." In retaliation another lawmaker threw pieces of luncheon meat at those walking out. With them gone, there weren't enough lawmakers in the room for the oaths to take place. It's unclear when the swearing in will now take place. Mr Leung called the walk-out "stupid". "I am not surprised that the government will put a lot of focus on both me and Yau Wai-ching but I think their action is a bit over (the top)," he told the BBC. The BBC's Danny Vincent in Hong Kong says the two members of Youngspiration remain defiant but also appeared genuinely nervous about the possibility of losing their seats. How did Hong Kong get to this point? In 2014, mass pro-democracy street protests erupted, with thousands taking the streets for weeks demanding fully democratic elections for Hong Kong's leader. The Umbrella Movement, as it came to be known, was led by young people who wanted their voices heard. After the mass demonstrations failed to win any concessions from Beijing, some of those protesters instead entered mainstream politics, to try to enact the change they wanted through constitutional means. But some took a more hardline view, fearing that Beijing was tightening its grip and influence over Hong Kong and wanting to preserve Hong Kong's unique culture and freedoms. In the last elections, a handful of those youth protesters, including both pro-democracy and pro-independence voices, won seats in the LegCo.
HK people do pretty well in governing HK
"One Country, Two Systems", "Hong Kong's people governing Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in the authority over Hong Kong are familiar to all people. The "One Country, Two Systems" principle and the high degree of autonomy alone, can not subsist without the people of Hong Kong. Since Hong Kong's return to China, have Hong Kong people been governing Hong Kong, and how are Hong Kongers managing Hong Kong? Before July 30, 1997, Hong Kong was under British authority, and Hong Kong's governor was appointed by the United Kingdom. The region has long been controlled by British officials. Although the number of Chinese civil servants and senior officials had gradually risen, decision-making rights were in the hands of the British. Chinese officials only followed orders. That is to say, Hong Kong was fully ruled by the British people before 1997, and policies made by British authorities were in line with the interests of the British government. Before the handover of Hong Kong to China, the Chinese central government prepared for the people of Hong Kong to govern Hong Kong" The most important part was the formulation and implementation of the Basic Law of the HKSAR which declares and guarantees that the people of Hong Kong govern Hong Kong. Hong Kong's first Chief Executive was elected in accordance with the Basic Law and appointed by the central government. Senior officials of the SAR government, the president of the Legislative Council, and the chief justice of the Court of Final Appeals, must be Chinese citizens. Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy is given by the central government. High-level officials must be appointed by the central government and shall be accountable to the Central People's Government and the HKSAR, a prerequisite for the people of Hong Kong to manage Hong Kong. Under the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, the people of Hong Kong are those who settle and have residency in Hong Kong; and most of them are Chinese nationals. There are several thousand foreign nationals who are working and living in Hong Kong, who are residents. Professionals, especially high-level specialists working for government departments, are recruited from all over the world by the Hong Kong government in an open and public way. In accordance with Hong Kong's immigration ordinance, both people from the Chinese mainland and foreign countries can become Hong Kong residents as long as they have legally resided in the region for a long period of time. The rights of foreigners who work and live in Hong Kong are protected by the law because they are part of Hong Kong's population. Hong Kong residents of Chinese nationality constitute the majority of Hong Kong's government, the Legislative Council, and judicial system. Hong Kong residents of foreign nationality work in financial and legal sectors, and do not affect the principle of "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong," which has long been a characteristic of the international metropolis. Hong Kong is not only being governed by Hong Kong people, but Hong Kong people are also doing very well. Although Hong Kong experienced the Asian financial crisis and SARs, these difficulties helped Hong Kong strengthen its status as the center of international finance, trade and shipping. Hong Kong people are capable of managing Hong Kong and they are doing it pretty well. The past decade and the coming years will continue to prove this. However, an article published recently in a Hong Kong newspaper holds that Hong Kong is not being managed by the people of Hong Kong, but by foreigners. The reason for this is that Hong Kong is an important financial hub with well-established laws, major financial institutions and legal sectors run by foreigners. Therefore, the author argued that Hong Kong is not truly governed by Hong Kong people. In my opinion, the conclusion is baseless. Hong Kong has long been a finance hub, not only a finance sector, for many industries are managed by foreign professionals who are not only highly qualified, but also very experienced.
Knowledge Graph
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1 The policies of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong," and a high degree of autonomy have been fully implemented.
2 The policy of "Hong Kong People Governing Hong Kong " plays an important role in the development prosperity in Hong Kong.
3 The policy of "Hong Kong People Governing Hong Kong " was put forward by Deng Xiaoping, together with some other policies for Hong Kong.