Right now, KMT doesn't know why the whole party needs to go to the main street in Taiwan from the PRC... There were many problems related to the incomplete legal systems, corruption, education...
Tomorrow is the sixth annual International Day of Democracy. Supporting the strengthening of democratic institutions is at the core of Britain’s foreign policy, and as minister of state for Asia, I wanted to mark the occasion by setting out why I think that the transition to universal suffrage is in the best interests of Hong Kong, and vital to its future stability and prosperity.
In 2007, the UN General Assembly decided to observe on September 15 each year the International Day of Democracy. As the UN has noted, “democracy is as much a process as a goal, and only with the full participation of and support by the international community, national government bodies, civil society and individuals, can the ideal of democracy be made into a reality to be enjoyed by everyone, everywhere”.
In Hong Kong, informed by our long, shared history, the UK takes its commitment under the Sino-British Joint Declaration very seriously. This guarantees Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, basic rights and freedoms, the observance of which the UK takes an active interest in. So I welcomed Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s undertaking during his inaugural policy address to “promote and achieve the ultimate aim of universal suffrage in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law and the relevant decisions of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress” and to “launch a comprehensive consultation on the election methods” for these ground-breaking elections.
It is encouraging to see the enthusiasm with which many groups and individuals in Hong Kong are engaging on the shape of electoral reform. Their views will be invaluable as the government prepares its proposed public consultation on future options.
What democracy with universal suffrage in Hong Kong will look like is, of course, for the governments of Hong Kong and China – and the people of Hong Kong – to decide in line with the Basic Law. There is no perfect model anywhere in the world, but the important thing is that the people of Hong Kong have a genuine choice to enable them to feel they have a real stake in the outcome. This is no easy undertaking, but then few things worth having are.
Dialogue and co-operation between all parties will be vital for a smooth resolution of this important issue. And, of course, Britain stands ready to support in any way we can.
But it is not just because of my belief in democracy as a universal right that I am a supporter of the transition to universal suffrage. Certainty over Hong Kong’s constitutional future is also important to business and investor confidence in Asia’s leading international financial centre. The city is home to around 1,000 British businesses, many of which have made Hong Kong their regional hub.
Like many others in the international community, the UK therefore has a big economic stake in seeing Hong Kong continue as the prosperous, stable and energetic centre that we see today.
It is a good time to remind ourselves that universal suffrage can help ensure that outcome among many, many others. Democracy is vital for our future prosperity, and it is the glue that holds us together. Its importance in the world cannot be overstated.
Hugo Swire is UK Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
17. To 16/F 2013-09-15 05:40:23
If democracy defined as one-man-one-vote is a “universal right” Why are green card holders in the US and African tourists in the UK disfranchised in these “liberal democracies”’ general elections? - Mr Swire’s forebears were pirates, opium pushers, colonizers or their beneficiaries Hong Kong people’s forebears were peace-loving peasants and Confucian scholars British “democracy” is built on foreign plunders, self-serving nationalism, and loyalty to the monarch China’s developmental democracy is based on collective diligence, forbearance and trans-national harmony - So Mr Swire, please spare us the hypocrisy of your ridiculous joke HK people are adverse to British meddling with democrazy If truly “Britain stands ready to support in any way we can” Help yourself first and get genuine, then the world may benefit Fully compensate the world for Britain’s myriad banking scandals Save your bribery act from sudden infant death due to GSK onslaught Go clean up the mess in Iraq etc that Britain as a sidekick helped the US created The world is tired of the limey tricks of evasion and attention diversion - The British economy is parasitic to the usd, The UK has a much bigger economic stick in the US than in HK But dare the UK government try to patronize the Fed and governments in the US? HK people have no need for your so-called “genuine” choice but the UK does need to get real Please don’t act funny again, Mr Swire
