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Letters | A Hong Kong citizens’ assembly could go beyond the demands of extradition bill protesters
- Hong Kong’s existing political arrangements cannot address the frustrations at the root of the current crisis. A structured, deliberative assembly of citizens might offer a way out of the logjam
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There is much to be said in favour of the approach suggested by Dhanada K. Mishra (“Like France, Hong Kong needs a great debate”, August 2). In particular, the example of the process that the Republic of Ireland has used, of well-structured deliberative assemblies to help address difficult issues that have long divided the body politic, may be worthy of consideration for Hong Kong at this time.
The frustrations that fuel Hong Kong’s crisis are deep-seated. It is unwise to expect those frustrations to be redressed effectively by current political arrangements. The contradictions at the heart of those arrangements – over-representing the rich and the radical while under-representing the commonweal, leaving the chief executive in a cleft stick – are at the root of much of the failure, despite many good intentions, to address the grave imbalances in society and the economy over the last 20 years.
How might a deliberative assembly help? If directed to find ways to address more fully key problems in society – housing and basic incomes most obviously – a deliberative assembly may help unblock policy and action in these areas, getting to the root of long-term frustrations.
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The process itself – engaging ordinary citizens rather than representatives of particular interests or ideologies – would be a demonstration of a way of conducting political discourse that may give all parties a path out of the logjam that existing political mechanisms have fallen into. Not least, the very process of deliberative assemblies, on which anyone may be called to serve, can show that the worth of each person in society is respected and help the city to rediscover the practice of civil discourse.
Setting up deliberative assemblies in a way that will command understanding and support across this divided city will require careful attention. In the Republic of Ireland, an independent chairperson oversaw the process. This would make sense here. Thoughtful design of the process is also needed to enable those who are selected for an assembly to participate effectively and to be safeguarded from the trolls, ideologues and insidious manipulators that social media unleashes upon us.
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