Why campaigning for Hong Kong’s top job is a form of theatre
Where there’s an election, there’s got to be drama as we are about to witness in Hong Kong, as campaigning for the post of chief executive heats up. It was no different before Emperor Yongzheng took the reins
In less than two months, the Election Committee’s 1,200 members will help choose the fourth chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
Cynics dismiss the public campaigning by the four candidates to seek Hongkongers’ support as unnecessary because, according to them, the central government will have the final say through its proxies in the committee. The performances given by the candidates as they attempt to demonstrate their affinity with the “man in the street” and flaunt their competence would be hilarious if there wasn’t so much at stake.
When Kangxi died, in 1722, after a 61-year reign, his trusted minister and brother-in-law, Longkodo, read his will, proclaiming the fourth son, Yinzhen, the next emperor. Yinzhen purged a few of his brothers shortly after becoming Emperor Yongzheng, stripping them of their titles and placing them in solitary confinement.