Hong Kong political impasse could compromise city’s future
Hong Kong needs to address the question of political reform if it is to regain momentum to deliver a popularly elected chief executive in 2017
My disappointment with the August 31 decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress stems from my fear that Hong Kong might have lost the chance of electing a chief executive through universal suffrage in 2017.
Hong Kong needs political reform to address two critical problems.
The first relates to the deep economic and social contradictions that have arisen here from economic globalisation and China's opening. Coherent and sustainable policies are needed to deal with these contradictions. Without political reform, there is a danger that future government policies could compromise the core values Hong Kong has depended on for its past successes.
The second problem relates to the political gridlock and open confrontation on the streets and in the legislature, which is preventing government from taking effective policy actions and compromises its ability to govern well. Incessant political struggle in the legislature is leading to stagnancy and at best a mixed bag of disparate policies approved by chance or contrivance.
Only when the head of government is accountable to the broad electorate will there be any hope that the gridlock can be broken. Only a popularly elected chief executive will have any real chance of uniting people and putting a halt to polarisation.
Waiting for 2022 or 2027 will be disastrous for Hong Kong and even more time will be lost. Reaching an agreement on the chief executive election would be a significant accomplishment because it would reflect agreement on not just an isolated issue, but also an understanding on how to take forward political reform.