Lam Insists Revamped Electoral System is "Democratic"

Lam answered questions in the Legislative Council today

 

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam fought back at criticisms of the newly overhauled election system, in particular one former opposition leader and lawmaker for "not understanding democracy". 

At a question and answer period in the Legislative Council today, Lam was referring to former Democratic Party chairwoman Emily Lau Wai-hing, who felt the requirement for pan-democratic candidates to get approval from essentially their political rivals was "humiliating".

The city's leader did not name Lau by name, only saying for "a veteran political party member and former lawmaker" to call the process humiliating was "completely wrong".

Lam out on the hustings back in 2017

She recalled her own demeaning experience when running for chief executive, as she had to solicit nominations from the pan-democrats in the Election Committee back in 2017.

"Although more than 300 members [of the Election Committee] openly said they would not nominate me, I still explained my vision to them in a humble manner... I never felt humiliated, even though it was not a pleasant experience, as some reprimanded me for an hour before allowing me to speak," she said.

Wonder who chastised Lam for an hour?

But Lau says Lam citing her campaign experience is like "comparing apples and oranges" with the new rules to run for the Legislative Council. And Lau also questioned whether Lam had Beijing's definition of "democracy" in mind when she launched her attack.

"I don't really bother to understand so-called democracy with Chinese characteristics. What I'm looking at is the international standard," Lau said. "What's for sure is that obstacles for running are much higher with the new composition of the revamped Election Committee."

Lau says Lam is comparing apples and oranges

The Election Committee has increased by 300 members to 1,500, and made up of five sectors representing the business community, professionals, social groups, local politicians, and Hong Kong delegates to the national legislature.

This revamped Election Committee acts as the gatekeeper to decide who gets to run for the Legislative Council, thus making it near impossible for pan-democrats to get approval.

Lam also said her administration, including overseas offices, would continue to criticize reports they regarded as wrong by foreign media outlets.

"We feel angry about the biased reporting of the foreign press. Some overseas governments have also smeared what the Hong Kong and Chinese governments have done," she said.

The Chief Executive insisted the electoral changes were to improve governance, not stifle dissent.

"What happened in the past caused trauma among some colleagues... If [proposals they were in charge of] had to be scrutinized in Legco, their passion was reduced because they knew they might face smears or personal attacks," she said, pointing to the opposition's strong criticisms and use of filibustering tactics. "Luckily the central government acted swiftly. Otherwise, the damage would have been bigger." 

Lam's cabinet rebukes criticism of foreign press

Lam seems to be exaggerating these personal attacks. The pan-democrats were allowed to use filibustering in Legco so they did. They were following the rules...

So instead Beijing changed the rules, in effect shifted the goal posts to ensure big wins, in other words no opposition.

And with the number of directly-elected seats slashed from 35 to 20, the public will have fewer ways to voice their concerns to the government.

So how can Lam say the new electoral system is "democratic"? Perhaps she really means the opposite of what she says...

Opposition Parties Struggling Financially to Stay Alive

Political parties used to raise lots of money from stalls like this

 

With the implementation of the national security law last June that led to the arrest of 47 pan-democratic lawmakers and activists, and now the overhaul of the electoral system, the opposition in the Legislative Council has been decimated literally and also financially.

Opposition parties are losing their main sources of fundraising from participating in rallies, Chinese New Year flower market stalls, and holding annual dinners because of the coronavirus pandemic. And now there is the added pressure that crowdfunding online has led to people involved being arrested for money laundering, thus scaring donors away.

Leong says Civic Party can only last a few months

And now with so many pan-democrats charged with crimes including violating the national security law, much of the money is now being spent on legal fee to defend them.

"The problem is, if you're donating to a party which is accused of subversion, would you not think twice before digging into your purse?" Civic Party chairman Alan Leong Kah-kit said.

Several members of the party are being detained for alleged national security offences and have also recently quit the party, which is the second-biggest in the opposition camp.

Leong revealed the Civic Party now has just enough money to continue for another four or five months unless it received more funding.

Meanwhile the Democratic Party has launched its fundraising campaign by selling raffle tickets for HK$20 each with prizes ranging from an Apple iPad, Dyson purifier and Apple watch.

Democratic Party now holding raffle ticket sales

The party's fundraising chairman, Ramon Yuen Hoi-man said he expected to spend at least HK$10 million this year, much of it used to defend members in court.

To raise other funds, the Democratic Party sold property in Lai Chi Kok but still needs an additional HK$4 million hopefully from raffle ticket sales to stay afloat.

"When I look at the balance sheets, this is the worst of the worst I have seen since I joined the party [10 years ago]," he said.

Yuen added the mass resignation of the lawmakers in Legco also hit the Democratic Party financially, as they would usually contribute 10 percent of their salary, which made up 10 percent of the annual income. In 2019 the members donated HK$1.3 million.

Leong of the Civic Party can't even consider thinking about running for the Legco elections in December when the party may not financially survive until then.

Ng says street booths have fewer donations now

The League of Social Democrats is also facing money problems, as fundraising through street booths has resulted in much lower donations than during the protests.

"We could collect up to HK$400,000 to HK$500,000 on those occasions," said Avery Ng Man-yuen, vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats.

It's a sad state of affairs to see the opposition in such financial straits. This may be the beginning of the end of them being crushed financially and their donors either not having enough money themselves to donate or are concerned about getting into trouble making contributions.

Beijing must be pleased to see this happening, easily crushing the opposition by financially strangling them...

Fact of the Day: HK$5M in Fines

Hanging out at the beach means a visit from the authorities

The five-day Easter/Qing Ming break is over, and the Hong Kong government has netted HK$5 million (US$643,000) in fines because 980 residents violated social-distancing regulations.

The police gave out the most fines at 959 fixed-penalty notices, while the Leisure and Cultural Services Department issued 14,000 verbal warnings and 21 fines while inspecting its venues.

HK$5 million in fines were issued this holiday

During Easter break, some of the raids included illegal gambling halls, restaurants, unlicensed bars and party rooms, with 48 percent of the fines issued in Kowloon West.

Currently bars, karaoke, and party rooms remain closed, while people can dine four to a table in restaurants until 10pm.

With bars having been forced to close for over 200 days over the past 12 months, some bar operators are holding a hunger strike in a bid to get the government to lift restrictions on their premises. However, the authorities seem unmoved by their action, even though they have a strong argument that restaurants have been allowed to operate in the evenings.

Meanwhile during the holiday, people flocked to beaches and the outlying islands. There were big lines for the ferries to Cheung Chau and Peng Chau, and Sai Kung pier looked packed. People also enjoyed staycations in hotels and dined out in restaurants.

People lining up at Lai Chi Kok for their jab

While today there were seven new coronavirus cases, three of which were local, health experts caution that there may be a spike in cases in the next few days.

The surges and drops in cases seem never ending, and yet Hongkongers are not keen on getting the vaccine, which is frustrating to say the least.

The sooner Hong Kong has at least 70 percent of its residents vaccinated, the sooner restrictions can be lifted and perhaps build a stronger case for the city to take part in travel bubbles with other countries.

But at the rate we're going, it make take till next year...

 

 

Is Casting a Blank Vote a Crime?

What will voter turnout be like in the upcoming Legco election?

 

Now that Hong Kong's electoral system has been overhauled to make it near impossible for pro-democracy politicians to run, let alone win, will anyone actually participate and cast a vote?

In the 2019 district council elections, almost 3 million people voted, 71 percent of registered voters -- an unprecedented turnout -- and what was the result? 17 of the 18 district councils were won by the pro-democracy camp.

Tse says calling for blank votes could be a crime

But the Hong Kong government cannot expect such a turnout again, unless people cast blank ballots.

And pro-Beijing lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun warns that could be a crime.

On Sunday, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said officials would study whether more regulation was needed to prevent people from casting blank votes.

Speaking on RTHK, Tse agreed with Cheng that it was a person's civic responsibility to cast a ballot, but said there was no law against casting blank votes.

However, Tse said, if someone were to call for such action in an organized manner, that might amount to subversion under the national security law, or other criminal offences.

Meanwhile on Commercial Radio, Hong Kong legal academic Johannes Chan Man-mun said people would be put off by more government regulation and this could lead to protest voting.

Chan says people might cast protest votes

Chan said he thought the government would look into the issue of blank votes, as there are concerns the voter turnout will dip significantly, with the pro-democracy side showing no interest in voting.

Instead he called on the government to think about why people would cast blank votes instead of worrying about the possibility.

Chairman of the Democratic Party Lo Kin-hei said casting blank votes is a way for the people to express their dissatisfaction, and that they did not like any of the candidates. He questioned whether Hongkongers' only choice was to support the government.

Perhaps this time Hong Kong really will have a silent majority?