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November 29, 2005
You are on the invidual archive page of Hong Kong's democracy timetable. Click Simon World weblog for the main page.
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Hong Kong's democracy timetable
Beijing emissary and occassional casino operator Stanley Ho has received the word and has shared it with the children of Hong Kong. Despite rumours to the contrary, Beijing already has a timetable for democracy in Hong Kong. If only Hong Kongers would stop asking for it, Beijing will deliver. Sure it sounds like you're dealing with six year olds, but that's what passes for political discourse in these parts. Buried in good ol' Stanley's warnings that Hong Kongers don't know what's good for themselves and should just wait for those that know better in Beijing, comes this: "I have met some high-ranking central leaders regarding this issue. They told me that I can pass their message to the democrats," Ho said.Quick, set up the countdown clock, there's only 41 years left! 2046 is only a mere 39 years later than the Basic Law promised. But you can't rush these things. This Sunday will see many Hong Kongers out on the streets in the latest example of mob politics. The tycoons and grandees keep telling us these marches don't work, even though they resulted in the toppling of Tung Che-hwa and the binning of the Article 23 legislation. Hong Kongers know better. David Webb has today's must read on everything that is wrong with Hong Kong's current electoral arrangements and especially the rotten boroughs (functional constituencies) with their veto power, easy manipulation, and perverse incentives, taking the transport sector seat as an example. Incredibly amongst the tycoons that control several votes each, other voters include the governments of Singapore, Dubai, the mainland Government and Hong Kong Government itself! It will make you angry enough to march on Sunday. posted by Simon on 11.29.05 at 08:51 AM in the Hong Kong democracy/politics category.
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TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog.mu.nu/cgi/trackback.cgi/130521 Send a manual trackback ping to this post. singapore voting rights in hong kong Excerpt: Via Simon World, a look at the 191-vote strong Transport Constituency in Hong Kong shows that Singapore, Dubai and - naturally - Mainland China have more say in how Hong Kong's government is selected than its average individual resident: Weblog: asiapundit Tracked: November 29, 2005 10:15 PM
Comments:
Congratulations Simon - you just got Instalanched :) posted by: Johnlouis Swaine on 11.30.05 at 11:35 PM [permalink]The entire article is full of gems: Ho ecouraged Hong Kongers to support the government's "reform" legislation because it would send property prices up 20% -- which should serve as a real incentive for the 60% of the populations who can't afford to buy a home at current prices. Ho urged Longhair to become a "warrior for democracy" by supporting the government's anti-democratic agenda. Beijing stooge Chan Wing-kee jumped into the fray, saying that it didn't matter how many people turned out for the march this weekend because the government had already decided to ignore them anyway. posted by: Conrad on 12.01.05 at 10:07 PM [permalink] |
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