As Hongkongers leave, will mainland-born elites take a more prominent role in the city’s politics?

A new party led by mainland-born businessmen has fuelled fears over Hong Kong’s changing political scene. With anxiety over the national security law expected to spark a wave of migration, the political establishment could see a changing of the guard

Albert Cheng

Published: 6:45am, 8 Jan 2021

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The passage of the national security law has put an end to “one country, two systems”. It is now expected that many middle- and upper-class Hongkongers will migrate to other countries after the pandemic dies down. With more people leaving Hong Kong, the political scene will change entirely.

Recently, a new political party, the Bauhinia Party, was founded by a group including so-called “new Hongkongers”, or haigui – mainland Chinese expats who have returned from overseas. The party has said it is seeking 50 more years of “one country, two systems”. It has also set targets of recruiting 250,000 members and taking part in various elections, including the chief executive race.

Meanwhile, some people speculated that the mainland-born former head of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Charles Li Xiaojia, could be eyeing a run in the next chief executive election. Li has downplayed the rumours. Nevertheless, they fuelled fears in some quarters that Hong Kong would be taken over by mainland-born politicians.

During British rule, it was said that political and economic power in the city was mainly held by the governor, HSBC, the Jockey Club and British-owned trading houses like Jardines.

04:03

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In the run-up to Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997, British influence began to wane. British capital gave way to local investors, and local civil servants, such as Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, were promoted to head government departments.

In 1997, businessman Tung Chee-hwa took office as the first chief executive of Hong Kong. During his time, he tapped people from prominent local families and appointed them to leadership roles.

In the current political climate, with Beijing tightening its grip on Hong Kong governance, a good number of overseas and local investors may quit the Hong Kong market. It may only be a matter of time before mainland Chinese capital and businessmen take control in the city.

I recall a speech Tung gave in December 2001, on occasion of the University of Hong Kong’s 90th anniversary, in which he put forward the concept of “new elitism”. He noted that “every society has an elite and needs it”. While Hong Kong had no use for the old elitism of colonial times, he said, it needed a new kind of elitism that was “open, meritocratic and strongly altruistic in outlook”.

Former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa speaks at an event in Admiralty, Hong Kong, in July 2019. During his time, Tung tapped people from local prominent families to join his governing team. Photo: Xiaomei

Tung tapped the second or third generation of Hong Kong tycoons for his governing team. Most graduated from top universities and had proven their ability in running businesses. They were experienced executives and well connected internationally.

People such as Henry Tang Ying-yen and Raymond Chien Kuo-fung joined the Executive Council, while others such as James Tien Pei-chun, Bernard Chan, David Chu Yu-lin and David Li Kwok-po joined the Legislative Council. Still others took roles in various public bodies.

Looking back, if Tung’s “new elitism” had succeeded, Hong Kong would not have ended up in its present state. Successors Leung Chun-ying and Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor have brought Hong Kong to a dead end much sooner than anyone could have expected.

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Many believe the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy has for a long time been to root underground members in Hong Kong society. There is no telling how many party members there are here, or whether some hold prominent positions.

In any case, many Hong Kong-based haigui come from distinguished backgrounds. They have excellent academic qualifications, are either executives of state-owned Chinese enterprises or have started their own businesses. Many are now permanent residents of Hong Kong. It is only logical for Beijing to wish to put Hong Kong under their control

The time of the new Hongkongers has come and it is inevitable that the city will be ruled by them. The deadline of 2047 matters no more.

Albert Cheng King-hon is a political commentator