Following the less than impressive turn out for the first stage of Hong
Kong's post hand-over legislative election early this month, I was reminded of a
statement made by an Argentinian leader way back in the early 1980's.
Responding to a question about when Argentina's government would embrace
democracy, the leader said he believed the administration was already
working within a democratic framework. The only thing missing, he pointed
out lightly, was the will of the people.
There are two ways in which the Argentinian dictator's words could be
applied to last week's poll. A 23-percent turnout of 'sub-sector' voters to
select an Election Committee (EC) that will in turn appoint ten members of
the new 60-seat legislature was low by any standard. When one considers that
'sub-sector' or 'functional constituency' meant only 140,000 of Hong Kong's
eligible voting public took part in the process - any suggestion that it was
truly representative of the will of the people is somewhat diminished.
Meanwhile, these same 'sub-sector' voters will be responsible for
directly electing 30 members of the legislature in the May polls. The final
20 seats will go to geographical constituencies - that's where the
man-in-the-street gets to cast his ballot for the party or candidate of his
choice. Hong Kong's Democratic Party are expected to do very well in the
geographical constituencies - but even in the unlikely event they polled 100
percent of the ballots cast and won every seat, they would still be
prevented from controlling the Legislative Council.
Hong Kong's election has been described as unnecessarily complicated and
confusing. Harsher critics charge that while the May 25 election goes
through the motions of ballot casting, it isn't really representative of the
majority of people in Hong Kong - and the complicated process is designed to
disguise this fact.
And it is complicated. Before the April 2nd selection of the EC a senior
government official admitted that the poll didn't receive a massive
publicity campaign because of fears the public would confuse it with the May
election. He also conceded that in any event, it didn't directly involve the
majority of Hong Kong's eligible voters.
Just in case you were wondering, a Functional Constituency is the term
used to describe a section of Hong Kong society with a desire to see that
their interests are represented on the Legislative Council. They include 31
business and professional organisations such as law firms, the medical
profession and education. The FC's put up candidates and vote for them. The
same lucky 140,000 professionals who had the opportunity to elect
representatives to the EC will also directly elect one of their own kind to
the LC. If that isn't enough, these folks will also be allowed to vote in
their geographical constituency.
Less than charitable observers might suggest the whole affair is a bit
like Animal Farm - everyone is equal, but some are a little more equal than
others. There is a reason for this, however, and it is a British concept.
For decades under British rule Hong Kong became famous for its economic
success - not for remarkable advances in democratic development. Ensuring
that professional associations are represented in government was and is
still considered to be a practical way to ensure Hong Kong's continued
prosperity. Hence, Functional Constituencies.
Supporters of the FC concept argue that while Hong Kong remains a
regional financial hub, an international icon of capitalism, the spectre of
interference from Beijing is dramatically reduced. They might have a point.
We'll see.
Chris Gelken
15 April 1998
Hong Kong
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