Is Hong Kong’s democracy dull forever?

HONG KONG: Jacob Mak had been looking forward to voting in the Legislative Council (Legco) elections scheduled for September 6. He felt it would give him the opportunity to help shape the future of the city.

But that excitement turned into an angry disappointment, when the elections were postponed for a full year, amid a resurgence of COVID-19 cases.

“That is totally unacceptable because it has no legal basis,” said the 40-year-old. Another disappointed voter, paralegal Angie Te, noted that Singapore and South Korea held elections amid the pandemic.

For voters like them and opposition leaders, it’s another sign that pro-Beijing officials are trying to silence the pro-democracy movement. In June, Hong Kong authorities excluded 12 pro-democracy candidates from Legco elections, which are held once every four years.

Then, in August, police arrested several prominent democracy advocates, including social activist Agnes Chow and media mogul Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of the Communist Party of China.

The cautious optimism that emerged after Hong Kong’s transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997 seems to have faded, replaced by a sense of apprehension and growing pessimism among residents about their future, with some now afraid to speak their minds out of fear retaliation. .

On a recent episode, the Insight program asked: Is there still a future for democracy in the city?

LOOK: The end of the Hong Kong democracy movement? (5:52)

SECURITY OR EXCUSE?

The Legco is Hong Kong’s main decision-making body, but only half of the 70 seats are directly elected by the public, while the other half are mostly held by Beijing loyalists.

For the pro-democracy camp, the September elections would have been an opportunity to make their voices heard after the turbulent events of last year. It was perceived as his first real chance to capture majority seats in the legislature.

But on July 31, Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam announced that she was invoking the Emergency Regulations Act to postpone the elections, insisting it was for the safety of the people in Hong Kong.

Bernard Chan, coordinator of the Hong Kong Executive Council, pointed out that a large turnout of at least 3 million voters would actually contradict social distancing restrictions. “It doesn’t make sense,” he said, noting that elections in other countries had also been canceled or postponed.

He added that disqualified candidates can always appeal through the courts and be reinstated. “In fact, in recent years, we have had candidates who won the appeal,” he said.

New Zealand, with relatively low rates of infection and deaths, canceled its surveys, but South Korea and Singapore went ahead with theirs.

Hong Kong Legco member Claudia Mo said the impression given was that “the Carrie Lam administration has obviously taken advantage of this panic and fear over the coronavirus to postpone the legislative elections.”

A NEW WEATHER OF FEAR?

In the municipal district council elections held last November, Hong Kong voters registered deep discontent with the government. Pro-Beijing candidates lost two-thirds of their seats.

But Beijing’s patience with the territory apparently ran out. On June 30, the central government unilaterally approved the controversial National Security Law, which criminalizes any act of secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign and external forces.

The pro-democracy movement sees it as an attempt to silence critics. And Mak, a manufacturing industry consultant, says the impact has been felt.

“The locals have started to change their names on Facebook, trying to be anonymous to … tell their truth,” he said. “Not so when Hong Kong was under a strict common law regime.”

Associate Professor Alfred M Wu, assistant dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, echoes this observation. “You can see people now deleting their social media accounts… They are trying to turn down journalist interviews.

“Those are very clear signs that they are trying to protect themselves. They are not as frank as before, “he added.

Mo cited meeting a taxi driver recently, who told him: “I used to speak freely with my passengers about what I think about the government. But now you better be careful because I have my registration sticker here with my name and my vehicle number. ”

WATCH: Hong Kong Democratic Crisis – The Full Episode (48:30)

Sing Ming, associate professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said the three developments – the postponed election, the disqualification of candidates and the Security law – demonstrated that Beijing’s leaders “can no longer tolerate political dissent. public in Hong Kong “. .

Wu also believes that Beijing does not want “the so-called liberal mentalities of the Hong Kong people” to spread to the mainland.

The government has said that nothing has really changed and that people can continue to exercise their democratic rights.

Bernard Chan thinks that, as happened after the British handover of Hong Kong in 1997, it will take time to show residents that they will continue to enjoy that freedom.

“Of course, as long as I don’t cross the line…. subverting state power or calling for Hong Kong’s independence, “he added.

In fact, some, like IT businessman Louis Chan, just want stability to return to the territory, even if it means giving China more powers to run the city’s affairs.

“Last year, fires could be seen in front of the courts… People who have different political opinions can be beaten on the streets. It is a chaotic society ”, she lamented.

For the pro-democracy camp, the challenge will be how to maintain momentum until the rescheduled Legco elections next September and survive in a much more difficult environment.

“I think the public hopes that they will continue to fight to maintain our civil liberties,” Ming said. “The public also expects them to fight smart: evade arrest so they can keep running, keep running.”

Watch the full Insight episode on Hong Kong’s democratic crisis here.