Chura Thapa
April 16, Hong Kong
The nomination of candidates for the by-elections, the de-facto referendum as claimed by Hong Kong's pan democrats, has ended with little fanfare in Hong Kong's political arena. The by-elections were triggered by the resignations of five pan-democratic candidates who claimed that the by-elections to be held after their resignations would be considered as a de-facto referendum for universal sufferage in Hong Kong. But in a democratic sense, this drama of the so-called de-facto referendum can be considered an undemocratic move which will not lead Hong Kong to a democratic society.
According to reports, there are merely around 26 candidates from some fringe groups which were never seen and heard in the past vying for the 5 Legislative Council posts. Some of them even are believed to be the made-up candidates from the League of Social Democrates just to save their face amid widespread scepticism that there will be no contenders in the by-elections and the pan-democratic candidates will have to make a humiliating return to the same post uncontested, very abnormal for a democratic practice.
For a development of real democracy, it is vital that all the political parties participate and take part in all activities that require people's participation, especially election related activities. However, the by-elections or the so-called de-facto referendum is boycotted by Hong Kong's largest poitical parties, the DAB, Liberal Party and FTU. In the past elections the parties who have boycotted the by-elections have a record of representing almost sixty percent of Hong Kong's voters. The election not participated by large opponents already well established in the political scene is undemocratic in itself.
In fact the by-elections caused by the delibrate resignations of the five pan-democrats should have been termed void amid the boycott of major political parties in Hong Kong. Without the participation of an opponent representing a significant portion of the population, the by-elections cannot be considered even an election to itself, let alone be the so called de-facto referendum. If the conduction of this by-election is no more than just a fulfilment of legal provisions of Hong Kong, it can either be considered a sincerety of Hong Kong government towards even a small portion of population, or a lack of knowledge about democratic politics.
The resignation of five lawmakers from the League of Social Democrats was another undemocratic move. Not all the members of the group resigned and called for the by-elections to test the people's verdict on their demand for the universal sufferage. The remaining members in the lawmaking body, no matter what they roar outside, didn't dare to test the people's verdict for their demand. So they have no ethical face to show to the people in Hong Kong that they too are sincere in their demand and aspire for a true democracy to prevail in Hong Kong. If they didn't quit fearing the loss of their seats, what they were heard gossiping during the fierce debate before the resignations, they cannot be considered true democrats.
The most important thing the pan-democrats in Hong Kong need to bear in mind is that the democratic development in a society does not flourish by rejecting opponents. Democracy means not always the rejection of others and making unilateral decisions. Therefore, Hong Kong's pan-democrats should first of all be able to persuade other section of the Hong Kong society, opponents as well, why their demand for universal sufferage in Hong Kong is necessary and how it might work in the future. Differences are heard in a democracy not only through confrontations but also through consensus. Hong Kong can only become a democratic society through consensual politics.
