The pan-democrats need to campaign with an eye on 2017
To the surprise of most people, the pan-democrats have secured more than 200 seats on the Election Committee. They are not only set to win a place for one of their candidates to take part in the chief executive election - which requires 150 votes - but also have quite a few extra votes to spare.
Yet, to many people's surprise, one of the two leading candidates, Leung Chun-ying, did rather badly. Including the vote he cast for himself, he won a total of 69 votes in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference sub-sector poll.
Let's put aside for a moment why Leung received only lukewarm support from CPPCC members and focus on the possibility that he might not secure enough votes to contest the election.
Some pan-democrats have suggested that they could give some of their 'leftover' votes to Leung to ensure that he qualifies for the race. They argue that it would ensure genuine competition in the election and safeguard the participatory right of potential candidates.
What a ridiculous notion.
Most surprisingly, the person who suggested this was law professor Eric Cheung Tat-ming. His proposal is not only illogical, but also politically biased. First, we all know the chief executive poll is a small-circle election, controlled by a 1,200-member Election Committee, which is selected by some 200,000 voters. It is not democratic and does not represent the wishes of the Hong Kong people.
From a democratic standpoint, Cheung's argument doesn't have a leg to stand on. If we followed his logic, there would be no need to continue with any democratic movement or fight for universal suffrage for the election of the chief executive and the Legislative Council.
As a political strategy, we can accept the pan-democrats taking part in the small-circle election. The unexpected results for the pan-democrats in the Election Committee sub-sector shows that our middle class, which consists of well-educated professionals, stands firm on our core values and the principles of democracy, and wants Hong Kong to realise universal suffrage.
And, because of this, the pan-democrats' involvement in the chief executive election carries a special meaning at this critical juncture in our political development. It's not about creating competition or a way to force pro-establishment candidates to clearly spell out their policy blueprints.
It's definitely not about increasing the bargaining power of the pan-democrats by playing an influential role in the election process. The pan-democrats will never be kingmakers because it is highly unlikely that Henry Tang Ying-yen and Leung would end up with 500 votes each, thus creating a situation in which the pan-democrats would call the shots with their 200 decisive votes.
The pan-democrats should take advantage of this election to help pave the way for the implementation of universal suffrage in 2017, when they can participate fully in the chief executive election. If the pan-democrats can, through this election, show that they have a candidate of solid quality, they will win public support.
A favourable outcome for the pan-democrats would be for Tang to collect between 800 and 900 votes, the pan-democrats over 200, and Leung just 100.
If the pan-democrats can continue their contributions and do well in the people's eyes, there is every chance that they will be able to put forward a candidate who will be qualified to be Hong Kong's leader in 2017.
We have to believe that democracy is not a pipe dream and can be realised. Only when people truly believe in the possibility of realising a fair, democratic system of government will they be motivated to support and propel the democratic movement.
The pan-democrats need to be clear about their position in this small-circle election and take advantage of the situation to build their political capital for the future.
