Hong Kong, November 25
Hong Kong’s leader pledged to listen to public opinion today and referred to deep-seated problems in society after a landslide election victory by opponents of Chinese rule amid months of sometimes violent pro-democracy unrest. Democratic candidates secured almost 90% of 452 district council seats in Sunday’s poll, held during a rare weekend lull in clashes with police, despite a strongly resourced and mobilised pro-establishment opposition.
Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing chief executive Carrie Lam said the government respected the results and wished “the peaceful, safe and orderly situation to continue”. “Quite a few are of the view that the results reflect people’s dissatisfaction with the current situation and the deep-seated problems in society,” Lam said. The government would “listen to the opinions of members of the public humbly and seriously reflect”, her statement said.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a statement, “We don’t want to see any more violence. It was reassuring to hear Carrie Lam commit to reflecting seriously on the message delivered by the people of Hong Kong.”
The elections saw record turnout after six months of protests and brought upset wins for democrats against heavyweight pro-Beijing opponents, greeted in some voting centres by chants of “Liberate Hong Kong” and “Revolution Now”.
While district councils deal with local issues such as transport, their members also form part of the election committee for Hong Kong’s chief executive. This could give them some influence over the next vote in 2022, although they only account for 117 of its 1,200 members.
Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai described the election as the first step in the long way to full democracy. “This district election shows that the central government needs to face the demands of a democratic system,” he said.
Along with universal suffrage, the protesters’ demands include an independent inquiry into perceived police brutality. The voting ended with no major disruptions across the city of 7.4 million people on a day that saw massive, though orderly, queues form outside voting centres. — Reuters
Destabilisation attempt will fail: China
Tokyo/Beijing: China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday said that any attempt to undermine the stability of Hong Kong was bound to fail. Wang Yi is in Tokyo to attend the G20 foreign ministers’ summit in Nagoya. He met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who stressed the “importance of allowing Hong Kong to flourish under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle’”. IANS
Taiwan terms Beijing ‘enemy’ of democracy
Taipei: Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s ruling party has denounced China as an “enemy of democracy” following fresh claims of Beijing’s interference in the island’s politics ahead of presidential and legislative elections on January 11. The allegations, reported by Australian media, were made by a Chinese asylum seeker, said to be a Chinese spy. Reuters
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