Hong Kong has been rocked by a spate of student-led protests that have swept across the city’s sensitive financial, administrative and shopping hubs. The agitation has sharply brought into focus the “one country-two systems” policy that defined Hong Kong’s transition from an erstwhile British colony to a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The protesters are clamouring for full democracy, that includes open nomination of candidates for the post of Chief Executive (CE) of the territory in the elections scheduled for 2017. Their protests have acquired a sharp and emotive edge after Beijing was accused of reneging on its commitment to premise the entire electoral process from 2017 on universal suffrage, including the choice of candidates for Hong Kong’s highest office.
The high-profile protests that could, if they get prolonged, threaten Hong Kong’s status as one of Asia’s premier financial centres need to be analysed in their fuller context. During the entire period of British rule — a full 155 years following the Opium Wars — democratic advancement in the territory was minimal. Post-1997 under Chinese sovereignty, the democratic reform process has begun to take shape, based on the Basic Law adopted by China in 1990. Under its terms, the CE would be elected by universal suffrage in 2017; but a committee would also be formed that would supervise nominations. While the agitating students, seeking unconditional democracy, may be unhappy with this law, the accusation that Beijing has reneged on its legal obligations is entirely flawed. It is highly unlikely that despite the considerable force of the social media at their command and the sizeable mobilisation on the streets, the protesters will manage to persuade Beijing to change its mind on the fundamentals of its “one country-two systems” policy, which allows the people of Hong Kong to retain their distinctive legal and political system. Yet, Beijing may seriously consider addressing other aspects of alienation in Hong Kong, including the dislocation of identity because mainlanders, prospering from China’s economic boom, establish businesses in Hong Kong, elbowing out sections of the locally entrenched elite from their vantage positions. Besides, skyrocketing property prices are causing people, in some cases, to spend nearly 70 per cent of their incomes on mortgage payments, dimming hope for a bright future, especially among young people. While it may be inclined to stick to its guns, a better-represented nominating committee, not shy of either holding extensive consultations or allowing more open-minded candidates to enter the electoral fray, may serve the immediate purpose of correcting the democratic imbalances that have been exposed by the protests.
