Government of the people, for the people, and by the people
Government of the people, for the people, and by the peopleCommentary on 'Donald will find little sympathy in capital' SCMP 9/2/2004 Even though the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' seems to have run well throughout these 6 years in Hong Kong, conflicts still exist when it comes to questions as fundamental as the political structure of the HKSAR. Ever since the July-1 Demonstration last year which over half a million of Hong Kong people took part in, the public and pro-democracy political parties have been voicing their desires of political reforms. What Beijing is putting on our way to the ultimate goal of 'one man, one vote' for the election of the Chief Executive, ironical enough, is Basic Law - the Constitutional legal document that has stated clearly that the limited degree of democracy in the current
Though the government claims the situation has improved significantly, once for a while we still hear news of high government officials being bribed and cases involving millions of dollars. Singapore is one of the freest economies around the globe, but has one of the strictest governments that even cares about how her people get dates. Sooner or later both Beijing and the SAR government would understand that the governing power ought to be in the hands of the people, not legalists or pro-Beijing politicians. They could even use the Basic Law against political development rather than for it. The Mainland legalists could set us back by saying it is impossible to launch an election of the Chief Executive by 2007, or that Beijing could make clear her stand that she would never approve any of the plans of reforms. Hong Kong and the next generation deserve the best, so that is exactly what we all are striving for. It is true that democracy seldom works out in Chinese societies. That explains why her government doesn't feel like having the need either. As for Macau, the other SAR just an hour of ferry away from the HKSAR, her people don't seem to be very enthusiastic in introducing the idea of full democracy into their regime. Taiwan is probably the only Chinese region in the world that practices full democracy, despite numerous flaws in the system that often make the headlines. Corruption is another issue in the Mainland. China is the least probable to practice democracy, or even any kind of system close to that, because of the Communist Party which is autocratic in nature and the generally low education level of the people. political system would one day be broadened to full democracy. We have the qualities needed for a democratic society: a fully developed government structure which bases on the principle of limited government, reasonably high education level of the public, an honest team of civil servants, and most important of all, millions of people who see the need of a change, and at the same time are articulating their requests. That is the spirit of Hong Kong, and that is what it is all about.
Common topics in this essay:
Hong Kong,
Law Constitutional,
Communist Party,
Macau SAR,
,
Beijing SAR,
Chief Executive,
Basic Law,
hong kong,
Country Systems',
July-1 Demonstration,
basic law,
chief executive,
election chief,
education level,
people people,
election chief executive,
|