US Congress advisers concerned about pace of universal suffrage
An advisory panel to the US Congress has expressed concerns about Hong Kong's delay in introducing universal suffrage and what it claimed was widespread media self-censorship. 'US interests in Hong Kong are based, in part, on the state of human rights conditions and democracy, including the assurance of a free press and the movement towards universal suffrage,' said the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission's annual report.
'Efforts to transition election for Hong Kong's Legislative Council to universal suffrage, agreed to in the [Sino-British] Joint Declaration, were once again delayed, which was met with controversy among Hong Kong's democracy supporters.
'Also in 2010, the freedom of the press in Hong Kong remained an ongoing struggle.'
However, the report also noted the willingness of Hong Kong people to demonstrate against Beijing.
The commission, a bipartisan panel formed in 2000 by Congress to investigate security implications of Washington's dealings with Beijing, issued a string of controversial reports on China in the past. Last year, it accused Hong Kong of playing a possible role in transferring sensitive technology, which could aid Beijing's espionage activities, to the mainland. The commission has long accused China of spying on the US.
Last year's report also said the city's autonomy had been chipped away due to the growing influence of Beijing's representatives in Hong Kong. In this report, the commission repeated its belief the Legislative Council was under the increasing influence of Beijing through the central government's liaison office.
Commenting on the constitutional reform package that was passed in June, the commission quoted pan-democrats as saying the package was moving 'too slowly towards universal suffrage'.
The reform involves creating five new seats each for the geographical and functional constituencies.
The report also highlighted several protests, including the annual June 4 commemoration of those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement, as an indication of people's willingness to protest against Beijing.
It also noted the protests in Hong Kong and Guangzhou in July against the Guangdong authorities' plan to convert a primetime TV broadcast from Cantonese to Putonghua.
On press freedom, the commission cited the postponement of publication of former premier Li Peng's memoirs. It also said that 'self-censorship among reporters remains widespread, although difficult to quantify'.
Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, dismissed the report as 'bias based on hearsay'.
'Everything the Americans said is far from the truth and the best thing to do is to ignore them,' he said.
