
Benny Tai says Occupy Central could give rise to a Hong Kong Charter
Charter would set out rights and functions and provide for the election of a shadow chief executive
Occupy Central co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting says that protesters gathered for the upcoming pro-democracy sit-in will be encouraged to discuss ideas for a “Hong Kong Charter” of rights and functions that will also provide for the election of a shadow chief executive.
The charter could be developed further after the protest, expected to begin on October 1, before being ratified by an unofficial public referendum.
It could then offer a platform for the shadow leader, elected in an unofficial poll, to monitor and speak out on the actions of the real chief executive, who will continue to be selected by a small-circle process, Tai said.
“While we are occupying we have a lot of time. We will have thousands of people there,” Tai told an audience at the Foreign Correspondents Club on Friday afternoon.
“We can have a deliberation on issues related to the post-occupation era... Disobedience does not necessarily involve resistance every time.”
The University of Hong Kong law academic said protesters at the sit-in would be divided into different groups according to their area of interest, such as social welfare, environmental protection or systems of government.
After the occupation, the movement would organise deliberative meetings involving civil society groups, academics and political parties to further develop the charter. It will then be put to a vote in a public referendum.
“If it is accepted by thousands and thousands of Hong Kong people, it will be the platform that can be used by a chief executive elected by the Hong Kong people through [another] civil referendum,” Tai said.
The shadow chief executive would provide a “check” on the actual leader, who Tai expects to be elected by the existing 1,200-strong Election Committee in 2017 after lawmakers veto plans to reform the election model according to Beijing’s guidelines.
Last month the national legislature ruled that Hong Kong could elect the chief executive by “one man, one vote” in 2017, but the two or three candidates would have to win support from half of a 1,200-strong committee in order to get on the ballot paper.
Beijing says potential candidates who might confront the central government cannot be allowed to enter the race, as they would threaten national security.
Two-thirds of the city’s 70 lawmakers must approve the official reform plan. If not enough do, then the electoral model in 2017 will continue to be the Election Committee.
Tai also called on the business sector to support the democracy cause, referring to the local tycoons in the delegation that met President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.
“I hope they understand that under the current system, no one can guarantee you will be the one who always enjoy the privileges,” he warned. “The red capital is coming. Your capital will have to be shared with or even given to the red capital.”
As the “banquet” – the codename for the sit-in, which thousands are expected to join – fast approaches, Tai said he felt relaxed.
“I am a runner. It feels like running the last mile in a marathon now,” he said.
“I can see the end in sight and I have the strength to carry on.”

