Real democracy for Hong Kong is in Beijing's best interests
Joseph Cheng says alliance's proposals for 2017 are genuinely patriotic
The Alliance for True Democracy has just released its initial views for consultation on the chief executive election in 2017, with the aim of promoting discussion, hopefully leading to a consensus. Not only must the election be held by universal suffrage; a person's free and fair right to vote, to be elected and to nominate a candidate should be guaranteed.
Qiao Xiaoyang , chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress, has said that candidates must "love the country, love Hong Kong" and not confront the central government. We don't believe the community would accept a "preliminary election" or "screening" mechanism in the official nomination process. Hong Kong people genuinely worry that the 2017 election will be limited to a list of candidates endorsed by Beijing.
The nomination process will be crucial in determining if the election is truly democratic
According to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to vote, to be elected and to nominate should not be affected by one's political views. So there should not be any conditions, such as "love the country, love Hong Kong", which have no objective definition.
And then there's the issue of calls to "end one-party dictatorship", which is often cited by the pro-Beijing united front as "confrontation" with the central government. In fact, it is an appeal for the ultimate aim of multi-party competition in China. The intention is not to confront Beijing; Hong Kong people are just exercising their cherished freedom of speech.
We should also remember that, before 1979, any suggestion that China should change to a market economy was perceived as counter-revolutionary. Yet, today, the Chinese authorities have embraced the idea as the key to the nation's prosperity.
Above all, the nomination process is going to be crucial in determining whether the chief executive election is truly democratic and competitive. We want to see a broadly representative nominating committee formed via one-man, one-vote by Hong Kong voters. In the longer term, the committee should be scrapped.