HK01 report that Beijing is trying to disenfranchise or disqualify pan-dems from joining and voting in the Chief Executive Election Committee. This is apparently because the dems’ landslide victory in the district council elections boosts their numbers on the 1,200-strong body. A clear case of CCP officials’ obsessive-compulsive democrat-eradication disorder.
Although it is in theory largely formed by a multitude of small-circle elections among a range of ‘sectors’, the CEEC is carefully designed, to have a comfortable majority of CCP-controlled votes (NPC/CPPCC members, representatives of local United Front groups, fisheries, Chinese medicine, etc). The bulk of the remaining slots comprise slimy functional-constituency representatives who will probably vote in line with Beijing’s orders but are not totally trustworthy (bankers, real-estate tycoons, etc).
This leaves a minority of a minority representing the people: directly elected lawmakers and councilmen, plus teachers, lawyers, etc – the pan-dems. Even bolstered by a healthy crop of new district council members, their presence is purely cosmetic.
Indeed, the whole CEEC is a solely ceremonial body. The CE is decided in advance by Beijing – end of story. The Election Committee (and the nomination and CE ‘election campaign’ charades) are just for show.
So why is Beijing so desperate to bar pan-dems from a body with no actual power, and whose composition is rigged to keep them in a small minority in any case? We see the same redundancy and overkill in Beijing’s desperation to disqualify pan-dems from the Legislative Council elections when the poll is going to be postponed for a year, and perhaps additionally rigged, anyway.
The need to cleanse even inert ornamental institutions of pan-dems verges on a phobia. The CCP rewrites inconvenient players out of history. It seems determined to rewrite Hong Kong’s pan-dems out of the present.
The emperor – livid at free thinkers’ refusal to kowtow – orders them to be extinguished. Wait for their lawmakers to be airbrushed from past Legislative Council group photos.
On the subject of extinguishing – an update from Kong Tsung-gan on the number of protest-related arrests and trials. The courts are swamped with this stuff.
Not wanting to put ideas into anyone’s head, but here’s a guide (in lots of languages) to using Magnitsky acts to give human-rights abusers a bad time.
It’s all straight from the books of the Singaporean “LKY School of Policing the Public”.
🙂
Speaking of rewriting inconvenient players out of history, whatever happened to the president of China from 1940-1944, Wang Jingwei? Presumably the CCP prefer to talk about Japanese atrocities than Chinese collaboration.
Can we go retro and 1990s Internet and install a Granny Cam to make sure Nathan Law’s elders are okay? I’d like a constant live stream of them to ensure they are kept safe.
If opening elections to people in the GBA, then most certainly should be opened to “residents” living in the USA, UK, AU, etc.
That’s an amazingly comprehensive list of arrestees compiled by Kong Tsung-gan 江松澗
I hope that someone or some organisation has compiled an equally detailed database of all the videod examples of brutality by HK’s uniformed thugs over the past 14 months.
Some months ago, knowing that I would leave the big lychee before the election, I asked the knowledgeable commentators of this fine blog whether postal ballots or something similar were allowed ? One of the responses was ‘don’t be stupid the dead would vote.’
Hearing plan to allow ‘Hongkongers’ in Southern China to vote – They have risen.
Fishball’s logic is impeccable. Throughout the 20 years I lived in HK, I voted in US elections, from president down to the mayor of the tiny town of 3000 souls in which I maintained residency. Most democracies offer this service: if you’re a citizen, you’ve got the right to vote, and the government is obligated to set up the necessary bureaucracy. (Right, tell Donald Trump that, but then, he’s not a small “d” democrat.)
@ Steve
For the UK it only applies if you have been out of the country for less than 15 years
There’s no need to worry about people in the GBA voting. By next year they’ll have told us that no voting need ever take place again, elections being an inferior Western concept.