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Taiwan elections 2020
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Demonstrators from Hong Kong wave their black protest banners at a rally in support of Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, outside the Democratic Progressive Party headquarters in Taipei on January 11. Photo: Reuters
OpinionLetters

Letters | What will Taiwan election results mean for Hong Kong’s future under China?

Taiwan elections 2020
Letters
Letters
Why you can trust SCMP
The outcome of the Taiwan election rules out any near-term action to integrate the island into the People’s Republic of China (“Beijing says Taiwan reunification opponents ‘will stink for 10,000 years’”, January 14).

As newly re-elected President Tsai Ing-wen might agree, the outcome was determined by the youth of Hong Kong in the streets of Hong Kong. Even if Beijing reduces control of Hong Kong and allows democratic governance, this is likely to be seen in Taiwan as only a temporary and politically motivated action.

While it is clear in the near term which way Taiwan is headed, this is not the case for Hong Kong. The success of forces in Taiwan who are against greater engagement with China could well lead to the imposition of more stringent controls on Hong Kong. And this could serve to discourage potential dissidents elsewhere in China.

It is also possible that, in preparing to deal with the United States in 2021 and a newly elected US president, the central government in Beijing will begin to prepare for further negotiations by showing a new face in Hong Kong.

Dr Sidney Weissman, Chicago

A task for Beijing’s new man in Hong Kong

Mike Rowse’s column in your Monday edition commenting on Luo Huining’s appointment is spot on (“A few suggestions for Beijing’s new man in Hong Kong”, January 13). The last thing we need from Beijing is an armchair tough guy making comments about a subject which he seemingly knows very little of. How about Mr Luo looking into real reform for us, with the objective being good government?
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is simply not up to the task of managing a HK$2 trillion enterprise like Hong Kong.

Mrs Lam has long bureaucratic experience which means she’s good at two things: (1) looking backward, and (2) taking orders or seeking someone else’s advice.

Also noted, in the same edition, the letter to the editor from one Mr G Bailey of London, about the obstructionist pan-democrats, although describing them as a Hong Kong version of the American Democrats is a bit of a stretch (“What is the endgame for the pan-democrats?”).

Stuart R. McCarthy, Causeway Bay

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