Why ‘Occupy Central’ is doomed
Chief Executive (CE) Leung Chun-ying made his annual visit to Beijing last week and was cordially received by President Xi Jinping and other State leaders. They not only reiterated the central government’s sincere wish for Hong Kong to implement universal suffrage, but also the hope that the SAR will seize opportunities presented by reforms on the mainland for further economic development and to improve people’s well-being.
However, some individuals in Hong Kong accuse the central government of trying to “sweet-talk” local residents into rejecting “Occupy Central” next year with the promise of support for a better economy, and improved social issues and livelihoods. This is really a desperate attempt to win sympathy by the beleaguered “occupiers”.
The central government has always been firm on maintaining Hong Kong’s prosperity, stability, social harmony and democratic development. The “Occupy Central” campaign is intended to destroy the city’s rule of law and the good relationship between Hong Kong and the central government. It can do no good for universal suffrage. That is why the great majority of local residents are against it and it is bound to fail.
The central government has spared no effort in supporting Hong Kong’s economic development and improving people’s well-being. Everything the central government has done in support of Hong Kong is for its prosperity, stability, social harmony and for the implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Now that Hong Kong is a special administrative region (SAR) it serves the best interests of both the SAR and the mainland to strengthen growing ties between Hong Kong and the mainland. Hongkongers are just as obligated to defend national sovereignty and security as the central government is to maintain Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. Those who describe the central government’s support for Hong Kong as “bribery” are slanderers — who insult local people’s intelligence.
The central government’s support for Hong Kong is not limited to economic development and people’s livelihoods. It is just as committed to advancing the city’s democratic development. One of the top priorities of the SAR government is to implement universal suffrage in the 2017 CE Election. This was stressed during CE Leung Chun-ying’s visit to Beijing last week. Xi Jinping raised the issue during his meeting with Leung. He reiterated that the central government has always been firm about implementing universal suffrage in Hong Kong. He said he hoped everyone in Hong Kong would respect the Basic Law and decisions by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), adding Hongkongers should reach a consensus on the method of selecting the CE by universal suffrage through rational and pragmatic discussion.
It was the central government which put the implementation of universal suffrage in the Basic Law in the first place and the NPCSC which decided that it could be introduced as early as 2017. There is no question that the central government was instrumental in convincing the Legislative Council to pass the constitutional reform plans in 2010.
Currently, discussion about Hong Kong’s constitutional reform is on the right track. The key to a smooth implementation of universal suffrage in the 2017 CE Election lies in our ability to follow the Basic Law and decisions by the NPCSC in progressing towards this goal.
However, some people insist on abandoning the Basic Law and decisions by the NPCSC to pursue what they call “genuine universal suffrage”. They have gone so far as to blackmail the central government and Hong Kong society with the “Occupy Central” campaign. This is really designed to undermine the rule of law and to jeopardize the city’s prosperity and stability. Such behavior is detrimental to Hong Kong society’s overall interests. It contravenes our values such as rule of law, rational thinking and peaceful expression. There is no way the great majority of local residents will support such destructive behavior. Those trying to win public support for the “Occupy Central” movement are delusional and bound to fail.