My heart and thoughts are with you, Chris, Deb, Clif....

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Ouch.

Quote:

China lays down the law in HK

By CNN's Marianne Bray

Tuesday, April 6, 2004

Posted: 8:42 AM EDT (1242 GMT)

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- China has ruled it has the sole power to decide if Hong Kong needs political change, in the biggest step taken since 1997 to tighten reins over the pro-democracy movement.

In a clear message that China's central government is tightening its control over the rule of law, news Chinese delegates on Tuesday said they had decided the territory must submit proposed political reforms to Beijing for approval.

"The right to amend the law belongs to the National People's Congress," Qiao Xiaoyang, deputy secretary-general of the NPC's Standing Committee told a press conference.

He added, outlining central power: "A locality has no fixed power. All powers of the locality derive from the authorization of the central authorities."

Chinese lawmakers were propelled to carry out the interpretations on how the leader and politicians are chosen in Hong Kong by what they said was a need to end disputes and confusion in the territory amid a rising tide of pro-democracy protests.

Delegates who were party to the meeting said the committee had voted to allow only Beijing to initiate reforms.

Before the ruling there was no clear-cut indication of who should initiate reform in the territory, but democrat politicians in Hong Kong had assumed they just needed two-thirds of legislators to agree to move ahead.

The free-wheeling territory of 6.8 million people was given a high degree of autonomy when it was handed over to China in 1997 under the "one country, two systems" formula.

Beijing pledged to keep the special administrative region's capitalist systems and way of life "unchanged" for 50 years.

The new constitution, the Basic Law, came into effect at the time of the handover allowing direct elections for the territory as soon as 2008, the year after unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's term expires.

But the constitution also states that Beijing has a final say over any electoral changes, and residents have been watching to see how China interpreted the Basic Law ahead of legislative elections in September.

Around half a million people rallied in July last year, and a smaller number this January, demanding political change in a city where the leader is handpicked by a committee loyal to Beijing and less than half the legislature is directly elected.

While Hong Kong put a controversial anti-subversion law on hold following the mass uprising, in his annual policy speech in January, Tung skirted growing calls for voting rights, disappointing activists who had hoped he would launch public consultations early in the year.

Instead, Tung said any consultations on democracy would be with Beijing first, and said he would establish a task force to consult with Chinese leaders.

Playing hardball

Outspoken democracy leader Martin Lee addresses demonstrators.

In recent months, Chinese President Hu Jintao's administration has played hardball, worried calls for more democracy in the territory will spill over to the mainland.

Beijing is also concerned about losing control over the territory, prompting it to issue rhetoric not seen in decades.

It stressed that Hong Kong's ruling elite must consist of "patriotic" elements and has labeled pro-democracy politicians "unpatriotic."

China's hard stance has cast into doubt Beijing's commitment to reform, and has also strained ties with Taiwan, the United States and the rest of the world. (Beijing jitters)

A visit by outspoken democracy leader Martin Lee to Washington in March rattled Beijing.

The United States has been upfront about wanting more democracy in Hong Kong, with the State Department repeating calls that it supports electoral reform and universal suffrage.

But China has responded by asking Washington to stop interfering in its internal affairs.

Democrats in Hong Kong see Beijing's move as an alarming sign of interference, China expert Willy Lam told CNN. They say it sets a bad precedent and allows China to step in as often as it wants in the territory's internal affairs.

China's tactic of muffling rising calls for voting rights has worked to lower expectations among the population.

Most opinion polls conducted last year showed 80 percent of the population supported universal suffrage by 2007, but now that number has fallen to around 60 percent, Lam said.

Meanwhile only 43 percent of 1,045 people interviewed in a poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong in February said they trusted Beijing, down from 50 percent at the end of December.

HKRockChick · No More Peas! Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 1513

its all a bloody great joke.

Should I stay or should I go??? :dunno

naaaah. I'll stay!

The business community and legislators set this precedent in 1999 whey they asked the NPC to overturn a supreme court ruling on the right of Mainland chinese children born in china, but to permanent residents of HK to have the right of abode in HK. The business community (greedy sobs) were worried that HK would not be able to cope with the massive influx of people, and so asked the NPC to interpret the basic law then. Thereby undermining our courts' autonomy setting a bad bad bad bad precedent that will haunt HK now and forever.

www.oycf.org/Perspectives..._cases.htm

"Facing the threat of mass immigration as a result of CFA's holding in the first abode case, the HKSAR government chose not to seek to change the law through the legislature-the normal common law process-but instead asked the NPCSC to hand down a ruling which essentially overturned the CFA holding. Such an expedited action might have brought about a quick fix, but its cost may take a long time to become fully clear. The government has tried to downplay the significance of the NPCSC ruling. But damage has been done to the ideal of the rule of law in Hong Kong society because the government and the NPCSC took the risk of undermining the image and standing of the courts by declaring that the CFA was wrong in its handling of the first right of abode case."

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Just worried about ya'll....that's all....and sorry to see all this crap going down.

Just be safe.

HKRockChick · No More Peas! Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 1513

I think China has learnt its lesson after Tiannamen Square, although you never know. HK is the rest of the world's gateway and they're not likely to let that go in a hurry. Anything they do WILL be in HK's best business interests, and to do that they have to maintain its freedoms, such as they are. I have confidence in that, more than I have confidence in the democratically elected leaders of this world. And which country is truly free anyway?

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Quote:
And which country is truly free anyway?

None. Great point!!

And you're right...they damn sure better look after their bread and butter!!

HKRockChick · No More Peas! Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 1513

story.news.yahoo.com/news...6&ncid=716

China Rules Out Hong Kong Vote for Leader

36 minutes ago

By MIN LEE, Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG - China's most powerful legislative committee ruled Monday that Hong Kong will not have direct elections for its next leader in 2007, crushing hopes in the Chinese territory for a quick move toward full democracy.

Under the ruling, the territory will be allowed to make changes to its electoral methods but only gradually, said Tsang Hin-chi, a Hong Kong delegate to the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee.

The decision ruled out what many Hong Kong people have been demanding: the right to democratically elect a successor to the unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa in 2007 and all lawmakers in 2008. Tung is seen as one of the biggest impediments to Hong Kong's achieving democracy.

In remarks carried on Hong Kong television, Tsang said the Standing Committee voted almost unanimously to approve its latest stance on Hong Kong democracy, with 156 votes backing the ruling and one abstention.

Tsang said the Chinese lawmakers had acted "according to Hong Kong's actual situation" and that they had listened to Hong Kong public opinion.

Hong Kong lawmaker Fred Li accused Beijing of "dictating Hong Kong policy" without regard to public opinion. Li said the decision violated Beijing's promise to give Hong Kong a great deal of autonomy when it was returned from Britain to China in 1997.

Ordinary Hong Kong residents now have no say in choosing their leader and they pick only some lawmakers, although Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, holds out the possibility of direct elections of the leader in 2007 and all lawmakers in 2008. The Basic Law sets out full democracy as an eventual goal but sets no timetable.

Tsang said Hong Kong's electoral methods could be changed in time for the 2007 and 2008 elections. He did not elaborate on what changes were possible although he said direct elections would not happen.

The Standing Committee shocked Hong Kong earlier this month by issuing a binding ruling that any electoral reforms must be approved in advance by Beijing. Hong Kong's unpopular leader Tung then proposed a set of nine guidelines that any reforms should meet, including keeping China's views in mind.

While Hong Kong residents will directly elect 30 of 60 lawmakers in the September elections — up from 24 last time — the other 30 will be chosen by elite voters from special interest groups, such as business leaders, doctors and bankers.

Seismic Anamoly · Joined: 22 Aug 2002 Posts: 3039

Quote:
....voted almost unanimously ....with 156 votes backing the ruling and one abstention.

When an AK-47 talks, nervous bureaucrats listen.

Damn.