Many would say that everything went as predicted in the recent election of Hong Kong delegates to the National People's Congress: pro-democracy candidates once again all lost out in the 'small-circle' election dominated by a majority of functional-sector electors, whom they claimed Beijing had influenced greatly. The results are only significant in pointing to who now commands greater political backing from Beijing and who, somehow, has lost favour.
To democrats, a meaningful NPC election is only possible on the basis of universal suffrage. That may well be the case, but it would take a long and tedious time for fundamental reforms to take place. Meanwhile, the question is whether there is room to alter the modus operandi of NPC delegates from within, in the absence of universal suffrage. The answer lies in how both the local community and the central government view the role and functions of these delegates.
If Hong Kong Chinese pay attention to the importance of the NPC as the national parliament, then even if the delegates are not democratically elected, people will still demand some form of accountability from them and seek to influence the NPC agenda through them. Such external pressure will render the delegates more responsive than they would be otherwise. The problem is that many still see the NPC as somewhat irrelevant, or even alien, to the Hong Kong system; hence, they don't expect much from local delegates, whom they consider more representative of Beijing's will.
There are signs that things are changing, very incrementally and subtly. For example, civil society groups like The Professional Commons have organised public forums where they try to commit NPC candidates to more definite electoral pledges. This time, more candidates produced more concrete election platforms, and were willing to engage in debates and connect with various sectors. The more the community pulls the NPC election out of the 'small circle', the more capable it is of altering the modus operandi by default if not by active design.
If the central government departs from its long-standing mindset of treating NPC delegates as faithful supporters - and demands that they reflect mainstream local opinion and bring national affairs closer to the people - then it will have more incentive for change. Competent professionals and people with stronger mainstream appeal would be preferable to just diehard loyalists. Some hints of such a move can be seen in this year's election.
With such a shift, the NPC team would need to become more responsive to local sentiment and better able to perform a bridging role between the central authorities and Hong Kong.
