Letters | District council revamp: indirect elections are not part of the offer to Hongkongers

Readers discuss the mistaken description of the government’s district council revamp, the development potential for Hong Kong’s bond market, and how to plug the cybersecurity gap

Hong Kong

Letters

Published: 11:30am, 12 May 2023

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There is clear-cut difference between a position filled by government appointment and one by direct election. Everyone can comprehend it: a deer is not a horse.

But when it comes to indirect election, confusion arises.

In the case where the electorate are the adult members of the general public and each of their votes is equal, we call this “direct election”. In the district council elections of 2019, 452 out of a total of 479 seats were contested through direct election.

In the case where the electorate comprises the winners of a direct election, we call this “indirect election”. For example, in 2019, the chairperson of each district council was elected by the members of that district council.

And in the 2016 Legislative Council elections, the winner for the District Council (First) functional constituency was elected by the directly elected district council members. These are two good examples of indirect election.

On May 2, when unveiling the details of its plan to revamp district council governance, the Hong Kong government introduced a new concept of the District Committees Constituency (DCC) that some media reports are referring to as indirect election.

In the new structure, the DCC will be one of four ways to choose district council members. DCC district councillors will be chosen by three committees whose members are picked by the government. In other words, the government appoints someone to appoint (or elect) district councillors. This is not indirect election; it’s more like indirect appointment.

The three government-appointed committees will also play a role in the nomination process.

Eighty-eight seats will be up for grabs by direct election. Those who wish to run must secure at least three nominations from each of the three committees, on top of 50 nominations from registered electors of the constituency. This is indirect nomination by the government.

In short, the forthcoming district councils will consist of 179 government-appointed seats, 176 indirectly-government-appointed seats, 88 indirectly-government-nominated elected seats, and 27 seats. The voters can have a consultative body to “manifest executive-led governance”.

Many officials and pro-government politicians reject the notion that “one person, one vote” elections are the best form of governance, yet given the attachment to the term “indirect election”, perhaps election is a necessary evil. Nevertheless, a deer is not a horse; the king does not have new clothes.

S.W. Shu, Sha Tin

A potential leap for Hong Kong’s bond market

To be an effective international financial centre, Hong Kong should further develop our bond market. In relation to our gross domestic product of around HK$3 trillion (US$383 billion), our stock market capitalisation is more than 10 times larger, our banking financial assets amount to about 10 times more, but our Hong Kong government bond market is less than 50 per cent of GDP.

In contrast, the Singapore government bond market is over 100 per cent of its GDP.

Like Singapore, the Hong Kong government is financially prudent, and it does not usually run a budget deficit. So there is no need to issue government bonds. But the extra cash can be put to good use to narrow the wealth gap in this extremely capitalistic society.

In addition, the central government could also use the Hong Kong market to create a new class of Chinese government bonds denominated in renminbi, but tradeable in both yuan and Hong Kong dollar. Such an arrangement would be similar to the current arrangement where certain Chinese company stocks listed in Hong Kong are quoted and tradeable in dual currencies.

This new class of financial assets – of stocks and bonds tradeable in dual currencies – will further the economic integration of the Greater Bay Area.

If and when the Hong Kong dollar is backed by the gold standard, this potentially vast pool of Chinese government bonds, tradeable in dual currencies, would effectively provide for the conversion of the renminbi into gold indirectly, as bond holders could sell it for Hong Kong dollars, which could be converted into gold. This would encourage investors worldwide to buy Chinese government bonds with renminbi, and thus better prepare the yuan to be a world reserve currency.

Guo Xiong, The Peak

Look beyond city for the cybersecurity talent we need

I refer to the letter, “Hong Kong’s I&T ambitions must be bolstered by cybersecurity talent” (April 26), and fully agree with your correspondent’s views about the adverse impact of Hong Kong’s cybersecurity gaps on its position as a financial hub and innovation centre.

For example, scams related to cryptocurrencies accounted for more than half of the whopping HK$3.2 billion lost to fraud in Hong Kong last year.

And in the event of a cyberattack on business, the impact extends far beyond a loss of reputation. Disruption to the company’s operations, financial loss and privacy breach are some of the unwanted outcomes. Just this month, a cyberattack on Hong Kong’s OT&P Healthcare led to the possible leak of the personal data and medical history of about 100,000 of its patients.

Hong Kong’s fight against cybercrime must be bolstered by more cybersecurity professionals, but I disagree with your correspondent’s call to train local talent by partnering with education institutions to teach cyber skills.

Hong Kong is experiencing a brain drain. More people are leaving the city than moving to it. In fact the city’s population last year fell for the third straight year.

Consequently, the professionals we educate today may not be the ones who contribute to the cybersecurity development of Hong Kong in the future. The money and resources used may not be a profitable investment for Hong Kong.

Hong Kong should recruit talent from all over the world to to ensure an adequate supply of cybersecurity professionals.

Bryan Marcus Wong, Aberdeen

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