A technical test of democracy

“One country, two systems” was supposed to survive until 2047.The Umbrella Revolution’s new recruits are already calling for changes to the system.

At first  glance, everything seems to be as it was before: the protests have run out of steam  (almost  to  the point of exhaustion), Beijing has not taken a step back and life in Hong Kong has returned to normal. But this would be a superficial interpretation. Two years on from the Umbrella Revolution, the former British colony is waiting to find out who will be the new chief executive governing for the next five years. In the long run-up to elections next March, anxiety about the mono- lith that is the Chinese Communist Party is growing, and there are in- creasing divisions about what to do.

The elections will be held accord- ing to the same system used since Hong Kong was absorbed into China in 1997: the leader will be chosen by an electoral commission made up of 1,200 people. Reforms had been developed based on Beijing’s inter- pretation of “universal suffrage”, which would have allowed a popular vote on a selection of pre-screened candidates. But this was rejected by the Hong Kong Legislative Council Commission following the 79 days of protest that shook the Special Ad- ministrative Region (SAR) at the end of 2014.

In spite of his unpopularity, the current 62-year-old chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, entertains a chance of being re-elected. Liked by Beijing (as are all who have governed Hong Kong since reunification), Leung may seek a second term. If Leung is not chosen, the electoral commission’s elaborate voting system will likely somehow find consensus for another pro-Beijing candidate. But beneath the ashes of the apparently immutable status quo, in which China is ex- tremely careful not to allow Hong Kong’s democratic ambitions to spread to the mainland, the home of the failed Umbrella Revolution is bubbling with ideas.

If you want to read it all, purchase the entire issue in pdf for just three euro