Bumps on the road to democracy

The political reform package unveiled last month was a big disappointment. Although many Hongkongers want the right to elect the government, their wishes were ignored. The proposals do not widen the franchise, and give no indications on how democratic government would develop.

Under the current system, only 160,000 people out of 3.2 million registered voters have the right to elect some of the 800 members of the Election Committee, which chooses the chief executive. Instead of giving more people the vote, the administration proposed only to add 800 new committee members, even though it includes more than 500 district councillors. This is not a meaningful widening of the franchise - thus the proposals must be rejected.

In the coming weeks, pro-democracy legislators will organise activities to galvanise people to press for democracy. We hope these will culminate in a large turnout at a march set for December 4. A number of reasons have been advanced to explain why Hong Kong cannot have democracy, one being that political parties are not mature enough. The pro-Beijing camp claims that some politicians are linked to foreign forces, and it would be dangerous if they could assume power.

I asked Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, in the Legislative Council last month, why he travelled to the mainland frequently, and whether he would give an account of the visits. He said I should not be concerned about his visits but should focus on officials who meet foreign diplomats. I should ask them to give an account of these meetings to ensure they have not tarnished the national image or betrayed Hong Kong's interests.

Shortly after that statement, Mr Tsang left for Canada, the United States and Britain. In the past, when pro-democracy politicians went abroad to talk about their hopes for a quicker pace of democracy, they were accused of badmouthing Hong Kong. It seems to be fine for senior officials to go abroad to talk to foreign officials behind closed doors, but when pro-democracy politicians do likewise, they become targets of vicious attacks.

Speaking in the US, Mr Tsang said it was naive for Hongkongers to pretend that we could decide on our own the pace of democratic development. He said if Legco failed to approve his reform package, which has Beijing's blessing, it would affect the mainland's confidence in Hong Kong.