1 July celebrations: Xi praises Hong Kong's democracy (without democrats)
The Chinese president is in the city for the 25th anniversary of the city's handover to China and the inauguration of its new chief executive. Entire neighbourhoods were closed off and strict restrictions were imposed on media coverage. Xi listed the goals the city’s new administration must achieve.
Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – Chinese President Xi Jinping and pro-Beijing elites celebrated the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to mainland China and the inauguration of its new chief executive, John Lee, without the people of the former British colony.
Xi’s two-day visit saw the massive deployment of law enforcement agents, closures of entire neighbourhoods and severe restrictions on media coverage, local and foreign.
In his speech, Xi said Hong Kong's "true democracy" began when it returned to China in 1997. For the Chinese leader, the dictatorship of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is true democracy, not the formal Western model.
Contrary to Xi’s claims, most Hong Kongers must have thought otherwise since only 30.2 per cent of voters bothered to cast a ballot in last December’s Legislative Council election. This all-time low came after Beijing imposed an electoral reform to promote only "patriotic” legislators loyal to the CPC and eliminate pro-democracy representatives.
In today’s “democratic” Hong Kong, there are no democrats; like last year, the traditional 1 July rally was not held. Xi's national security law crushed the pro-democracy camp and past rally organisers are either in jail or under close police monitoring.
The first rally was held on 1 July 2003 and attracted half a million people opposed to an anti-subversion law proposed by then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.
A year ago, only a group of four members of the League of Social Democrats defied the authorities and staged a protest in Wan Chai. Acting pre-emptively, police this year placed League members under house arrest. The party is one of the few not yet dissolved under the national security law.
Xi was clear when he outlined the future he sees for Hong Kong. No change to the “one country, two systems” model, which was supposed to guarantee a high level of autonomy to the city as per agreements with the United Kingdom.
Xi noted that Hong Kong will maintain its capitalist regime, its traditional way of life and the Common Law legal system (introduced by the British) until 2047.
But only "patriots" can govern Hong Kong, because power cannot be ceded to “traitors”, a term applied to pro-democracy figures and people who, starting in 2014, took to the streets to demand greater freedom and democracy for the city.
In Xi's words, no one can challenge Beijing's “overall jurisdiction" in Hong Kong. But China’s paramount leader also had a warning for Lee. Xi listed a number of goals that Hong Kong’s new chief executive must achieve, like greater administrative efficiency and boosting the economy.
According to Xi, what Hong Kongers really want is a better life, a bigger home, more opportunities to open innovative businesses, better education and better care for the elderly.
The recent flight abroad of thousands of Hong Kong residents tells a different story. For a city that had a “global” status, it now risks becoming an ordinary “Chinese” mega city.
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13/10/2020 12:37
19/06/2020 15:09
