Democrats must ask themselves some difficult political questions
I refer to your editorial ('Compromise needed on the road to democracy', April 3). You referred to Basic Law expert Wang Zhenmin , who said the introduction of full democracy in Hong Kong is in China's national interest, and that the central government was sincere in its promise to allow democratic elections for the chief executive in 2017 and the Legislative Council in 2020.
The pan-democrats would do well to abandon their fight for 2012 direct elections and address some real issues.
They have to ask if 'one man, one vote' by geographical demarcation is the best and only democratic system. Would this method produce the best mix of legislative councillors to supervise and advise the executive branch of the government?
The US has the lobby system, which in effect operates as a form of bribery. If the issue of campaign finance and donations to politicians in office is not addressed, corruption - and big businesses getting a strong grip on a directly elected government through their donations - would be inevitable. What are the proposals of the democrats on this issue? The democrats want more welfare, but have they addressed the question of abuse of the welfare system, which is not insignificant even with our present not-so-generous benefits?
Have the democrats helped make voters fully aware of their responsibilities in a democratic system? The voice of the community regarding the recent medical funding consultation paper seems to be: 'We know something needs to be done about our public health care system, but don't ask us to pay for it.' We all know that our landfills are nearly full. Incineration is a good solution. But we would all say: 'Don't put the incinerator near my home.' Will democratic politicians work for what is good for the community as a whole, or will they pander to the selfish interests of their voters?
I do not agree with Professor Wang that time is required for the business community to adapt to the new rules of the game. I contend that time is required for the democrats and the Hong Kong people to work out solutions to the issues I have described.
Alex Woo, Tsim Sha Tsui
