Question: Is Hong Kong a democratic country?
This is one of the most common questions about Hong Kong, but it is based on some inaccurate assumptions.
First of all, Hong Kong is not a country , but a special administrative region of China – you can find more information about their unique relationship in this article on transferring Hong Kong from Great Britain to China.
And second, Hong Kong has a government that exercises a form of democracy, but is seen to be following a direction dictated by the People’s Republic of China.
Yes no and maybe
Yes, Hong Kong has a kind of democracy. But it does not have universal suffrage, a basic principle of a democracy.
Hong Kong has its own mini parliament in the form of LEGCO, short for Legislative Council. Representatives at LEGCO are elected by direct election or by electoral college.
Hong Kong residents for more than seven years are eligible to vote in direct elections; however, only one third of the council is directly elected. The remaining two-thirds are chosen by 20,000 strong functional members made up of businessmen and professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc.
These groups are formed in broad parties formed by mutual interests, almost always related to business.
Beijing has something to say … and it makes itself heard
No Chinese Communist official exercises any de jure power over LEGCO and its operation. However, a “Pro-Beijing” camp has many LEGCO representatives among its ranks, giving the ruling Communist Party an indirect voice in the Hong Kong government. Beijing also reserves the right to interpret the Hong Kong Basic Law in its favor.
Ultimately, Beijing influences the selection (and ultimately approves) the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, the head of government. That means that the Executive Director, currently Carrie Lam, reports directly to Beijing.
As the Executive President is elected by 800 members from the functional constituency, there are no direct elections for the position.
The year 2007 saw the election of Chief Executive “contested” for the first time. However, because many of the functional constituent parts receive their marching orders from Beijing, the outcome was already known before the ballots were counted.
However, fervently the two candidates debated and campaigned, the result was never in doubt.
Changing face of democracy
Britain made China commit to keeping basic Western-style freedoms alive in Hong Kong after the rotation. And China has largely delivered on the promise: Hong Kong citizens enjoy greater freedom of expression, assembly and religion than their counterparts in the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing reserves the right to manage Hong Kong’s diplomatic and defense relations. A 600-member garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army keeps the peace in Hong Kong, but is very careful not to upset local sensibilities about control of the mainland.
But as mainland China’s cultural and economic power dwarfs that of Hong Kong, Beijing may feel less pressure to uphold Hong Kong’s democratic norms. “Hong Kong’s economy relative to China’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen from a peak of 27 percent in 1993 to less than 3 percent in 2017,” reports the Hong Kong Economic Journal.
So the question, if Hong Kong is truly democratic , it also has a time-based element. It’s mostly democratic now – but who says the status quo will last a few years from today?
