As China moves toward neutralizing Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition, it is also giving the green light to a new political party that provides a window into how Beijing can change territory in the years to come.
The Bauhinia Party, named after the flower on the Hong Kong flag, was founded in May last year by Western-educated businessmen who were born on the mainland and have ties to the Communist Party. Although still tiny, the group consulted with Hong Kong government officials, the Liaison Office – Beijing’s main body overseeing the city – and relevant Chinese offices, according to Charles Wong Chau-chi, one of the co-founders.
In an interview, Wong said that although the party has never officially asked for the approval of those Chinese agencies, “we believe there is no reason why they do not want to support us.”
The party’s goal, he added, was to support people in running for chief executive, which will be launched next year when Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s first term expires. One possibility is Li Shan, the party president, who is the executive director of Silk Road Finance Corp. Ltd., a member of the board of directors of Credit Suisse AG and a delegate to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body in Beijing. He refused to ask for an interview.
Wong said Li would only be interested in becoming Hong Kong’s next leader if asked “and asked, he doesn’t necessarily want to.” The Bauhinia Party, Wong said, is not ready to run in the September Legislative Council elections, which have been postponed by a year due to the pandemic.
The formation of the group at a time when China is facing criticism in the West for blocking democracy supports the signal of a Beijing effort to refine a managed version of electoral policy that gives the Communist Party the final veto power. Chinese authorities last year passed a comprehensive national security law that was used to reduce freedom of expression, while imposing a test of patriotism to disqualify pro-democracy parliamentarians – a move that prompted opposition members in the Legislative Council to resign en masse in November.
“Compete for Blessings”
The emergence of the Bauhinia Party indicates a many-party system that “competes for blessings and a show of loyalty and devotion to whoever is responsible in Beijing,” he said. Kenneth Chan, associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
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Any move by Beijing to tighten its grip on Hong Kong would provide an early test for US President Joe Biden, who has vowed to support democracy supporters in the former British colony. A former Hong Kong leader is still close to Beijing recently suggested that the next chief executive should be decided next year by consultation, rather than by a committee of 1,200 people. Beijing, in any case, can veto any winner it doesn’t like.
The Bauhinia Party platform says it aims to “respect” a country, “value” two systems and protect the core values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong. ” However, while this sounds in line with the moderate pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong, the group’s diagnosis of territorial issues reflects that of Beijing.
The Bauhinia party is named after the flower on the Hong Kong flag.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Wong said the root causes of the 2019 unrest had “nothing to do with China”, while pointing to factors such as high-priced housing, poor local governance and opposition, which he said broke the social fabric. and annoys everyone “The National Security Act, he added, was” in time to help stabilize Hong Kong “and had no impact on” one country, two systems “- the framework that guaranteed autonomy territory for 50 years after the United Kingdom handed over the former colony in 1997.
Wong put forward a series of policy proposals that he said would help strengthen Hong Kong’s economy in the coming decades: “One country, two systems” should be extended for another 50 years. Young people should learn more about China, study tangerine and spend time working on the mainland. Hong Kong should take advantage of the Greater Bay area, Beijing’s plan to link the territory with neighboring Macao and Shenzhen, where it is located Huawei Technologies Co. And the city should implement a proposal on universal suffrage approved by Beijing.
Perhaps the biggest problem, Wong said, was expensive housing. High property prices are affecting everyone, he said, raising the cost of living and making Hong Kong “less and less competitive.” The party’s platform calls for “bold solutions”, including land and waterfront reclamation, re-zoning of agricultural land, joint land development with nearby cities of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, and the transformation of rural parks that now make up about 40% of the total land area in Hong Kong.
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“Land supply is not a problem,” Wong said. The challenge, he added, was to find “a common denominator that is shared by everyone to really push your housing program.”
Although it is not clear whether the Bauhinia party can gain much strength, the current Beijing-friendly groups in Hong Kong have rejected their chances of winning elections. “The business community will not invest its resources in new parties without political influence and with little prospect of winning seats in LegCo or at the district level,” said Regina Ip, a pro-establishment MP.
Wong said the party aims to eventually have up to 250,000 members. He added that the party’s communication with the Chinese government would probably be “quite fluid”, while saying that it was “stupid” that critics said it had Beijing’s support.
“A lot of people are trying to identify us if we’re from China,” Wong said. “I think they really lack the idea. We should look at whether or not we are for Hong Kong. And China is there to help, but there are bottom lines, there are red lines. ”