Xinhua director Jiang Enzhu was frank when he described his bid for a seat on the National People's Congress. He said it was something he had never done before. True, this career diplomat has never been an aspiring politician seeking power and glory. Real elections are a fresh experience for him, as is his foray into Chinese politics. Mr Jiang would probably never have envisaged the need to compete for a post in the Chinese political structure - going from the executive branch to the legislature. As Communist Party cadres always say, they leave it to the party's central organs to decide their positions. On Thursday, Mr Jiang was among the early hopefuls getting a nomination form for the forthcoming selection of Hong Kong's 36 deputies. He secured the required minimum - 10 nominations - from the so-called election conference consisting of 424 local Chinese. His fate will be decided by ballot on December 8. Few doubt Mr Jiang will win. As head of the Xinhua office, he has played a vital role in evolving relations between the SAR and the mainland. 'If I get elected as a Hong Kong deputy to the NPC, this will help reflect the situation of Hong Kong as well as the views and recommendations of people from all sectors to Beijing,' he said in his manifesto. '[This will help] uphold the interest of the Hong Kong compatriots, further enhance the exchange and co-operation between Hong Kong and the mainland, and it will help me to do a better job here. 'My job is to contribute to the implementation of the policy of 'one country, two systems' and the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong. 'These are my reasons for taking part in the election.' Nominally the highest power organ in China but seen by cynics as a mere rubber stamp, the NPC is - like it or not - the only official channel through which Hong Kong people can take part in national affairs. Every March more than 3,000 deputies from all localities, provinces and autonomous regions gather with representatives of the People's Liberation Army in the Great Hall of the People to hear the government work report, the Budget and the report from the People's Supreme Court. It is an occasion for deputies to air their views on the state of the nation, on topics ranging from reform of state enterprises to policies covering education and ethnic minorities. If there was a dearth of public interest in the NPC during Hong Kong's colonial years, it was because a seat in the national parliament brought more harm than good to the deputies. They were stigmatised as leftist, pro-communist and old pro-China figures, if not underground party members. Times have changed. The creation of the SAR has enhanced the significance of the local NPC deputies symbolically and practically. Unlike the situation in the past, when local deputies were incorporated in the Guangdong delegation, the 36 new recruits will represent the SAR at the Great Hall. According to the Basic Law, local NPC members will play a crucial role in the amendment of the post-handover constitution and may vote in the selection of the chief executive and for part of the legislature. But, perhaps more important, the NPC selection marks the first time the political structure, norms and culture across the border have become part of the Hong Kong scene. Local political figures with strong party backgrounds, such as Allen Lee Peng-fei of the Liberal Party and Democrat James To Kun-sun, will have the opportunity to bring their voices into the Communist Party's political structure if they are selected. This is despite the insistence of senior Chinese legislators that all delegates will be acting in their own capacities. On the other hand, the participation of local political parties will bring to public attention issues on the agenda of the national lawmaking body. The notion that 'well water does not interfere with the river water' raised by President Jiang Zemin after the killings of June 4, 1989, will no longer matter. The formal participation of local people and political forces in national affairs has already begun, albeit at a very slow pace and on a limited scale. The differing modes of thoughts and cultures may conflict before differences are accommodated or narrowed down. A controversy over the so-called 'applause culture' that erupted in the middle of a three-day meeting of the 424-member selection panel highlights the differences between Hong Kong's way of doing things and the political culture over the border. After a show of hands on a resolution concerning the selection process, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa - who was chairing the panel's presidium - proposed a round of applause to approve a separate resolution on members' conduct. One member, Frederick Fung Kin-kee, wanted it done differently. Mr Tung then changed his mind and asked for a show of hands. The controversy highlights fears that the kind of applause common at NPC sittings in the Great Hall will become the norm here. Behind these fears lies worries that the voices of dissent will be swamped by applause for the sake of harmony and consensus, a more common feature of a communist state than of a free-wheeling capitalist society. One veteran local NPC deputy, who didn't want to be named, said: 'They don't see it as a problem. It's very common in the mainland. 'But Hong Kong people have not got used to this kind of practice. They are worried that the mainland political culture will begin to infiltrate into our system.' While a vote by the clapping of hands was blocked, the fact is that the mainland influence has been strong in the selection process for the NPC deputies. The bulk of the selection panel comes from the 400-member selection committee formed by the Beijing-appointed Preparatory Committee. With such a powerful degree of control over who may be nominated and who may vote, the ballot outcome will surely not differ greatly from the party's preferences. Moreover, the selection process will also be overseen by a senior NPC official from Beijing. Yet the influence works both ways. Whatever the motives of the Democrats bidding for NPC seats, their participation should have a positive impact in the long run. The Government's decision to ban senior officials and officers in sensitive postings from standing shows their wish to maintain an apolitical civil service, unlike the one on the mainland. Yes, Mr Jiang's election bid is a new experience for him. And the whole selection procedure is a new experience for both Hong Kong and the mainland in the grand experiment of 'one country, two systems'.
