Vote-rigging claims send wrong message
Television footage of the bad and the ugly of election activities in Taiwan has always been a source of reassurance to Hong Kong of the maturity and rationality of its citizens and institutions.
That half a million people demonstrated on July 1 in some of the busiest parts of Hong Kong without causing much chaos and inconvenience has been hailed as a milestone in civic awareness and participatory politics.
The history of elective politics in Hong Kong may be short and not without setbacks. But by and large, local elections have been known for being orderly and corruption-free and for their participants' restraint.
This makes the irregularities and reported violence in elections for rural committees last week disturbing.
Fifty-four village representatives have been arrested since last Sunday in a police crackdown on alleged vote-rigging.
The head of Kwu Tung Tsuen in Sheung Shui, Yiu Wing-loi, was attacked by three men who called him a 'troublemaker'. The attack was believed to have been linked to the Sheung Shui rural committee election. .
As the bruised Mr Yiu took leave from a hospital to cast his vote on Friday, dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes police were on alert to keep the peace.
Speaking of the arrests on Tuesday, the chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, Lau Wong-fat, blamed the culture of dining for the possible breach of election rules.
'There are treats of meals and these are the traditions of showing respect to the older generation,' he said. 'I know this could be problematic. We have learned our lesson after this incident.'
The Secretary for Home Affairs, Patrick Ho Chi-ping, said the government would consider bringing rural committee elections under a statutory framework.
At present it remains unclear whether the Elections (Corruption and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance governs rural committee elections.
Under the three-tier rural representative system, village heads elect members of rural committees. Committee members are to elect representatives to sit on the statutory Heung Yee Kuk.
With the urbanisation of Hong Kong fast erasing the lines between city and rural territories, the traditional culture, practices and systems in villages have become at odds with the development of a modern, rule-based society.
Following the landmark ruling that traditional village elections which denied rights to non-indigenous residents were illegal, the so-called 'dual heads' representative system has been introduced this year.
The significance of the electoral change lies in the fact that the fundamental principles and core values of society must prevail over long-held traditions.
As the seven million people of Hong Kong have gone through the various sets of elections in the past decades, the principle of fair, free and open elections has been tested and become entrenched.
The shared common values on the principles of political participation and representation underpin the strengths and commitment of a society in pursuit of greater democracy.
This could provide a solid foundation for the community to promote the development of culture and institution-building in elective politics at all levels. Cultural change is important in the long run, but it is important also for any ambiguities in existing laws and election mechanisms to be clarified soon.
Clear election laws and corresponding mechanisms, applied non-selectively, could send a plain and powerful message about what matters most in political participation.
With a community-wide debate on constitutional development drawing near, it is immensely important that rural electoral irregularities do not send the wrong message about fair and open elections and their place among the core values of Hong Kong.
