Students and pan-democrats must offer effective solutions
I refer to the article by Stephen Vines ("The real radicals want core Hong Kong values cast aside", November 22).
He said that when talking to the Occupy Central protesters, especially the students, he kept hearing, "We don't want Hong Kong to become just another Chinese city." Vines said the protesters wanted to preserve the characteristics that made Hong Kong unique among Chinese cities, which is the rule of law and freedom.
He then said there were people in Hong Kong who "shout very loudly about the need for adherence to the 'one country, two systems' principle but, in practice, focus only on the 'one country' part of this equation". He said these people wanted the city to become a place where the major decisions were made by the central government, and where core values that distinguish Hong Kong from the mainland system were "cast aside". Such people supported "Beijing's ruling on the future of constitutional reform, even though the Basic Law prominently asserts the 'high degree of autonomy' vested in the government of Hong Kong".
Vines gives the impression that people who support Beijing's ruling on constitutional reform are against freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong. This is an unfair accusation levelled at those of us who support the Basic Law, which clearly states that chief executive candidates must be nominated by a nomination committee.
The Occupy protesters say the nomination committee will block candidates because of their political leanings. The composition of the nomination committee has not even been decided. Instead of endlessly blocking streets, wouldn't the protesters achieve more by coming up with ideas outlining how the nomination committee members can be elected in the most democratic way?
Even if the committee is formed along the lines of the 2012 election committee, we have to remember that this did not stop Albert Ho Chun-yan from becoming a candidate back then.