Why all the losers in Hong Kong’s chief executive race deserve our vote ... of thanks
Alice Wu says the losing candidates showed the way for the incoming chief executive, from raising critical questions on ‘one country, two systems’ to highlighting the importance of heeding public sentiment
Not only did some of them brush aside the great disincentive of being made predestined losers, they stuck to it to the end.
Whatever our politics, they are to be commended for putting themselves on the line, and for the personal sacrifices they made to get, or at least try to get, their names on the ballot.
Watch: Regina Ip drops out of race for Hong Kong chief executive
She was not the odd woman out, especially since this time it was basically a contest of ex-civil servants. The shameful way the powers that be treated her, twice over now, are the darkest moments of this city’s chief executive race.
Beijing’s heavy lobbying for Carrie Lam as Hong Kong leader could backfire, academic warns
Beijing may see bullying Ip out of the race as serving a greater purpose, but it has made Ip the reluctant poster girl for its enemies, opposed to the idea of a Beijing-controlled nomination committee in any talks about political reform.
His question points to the source of this city’s political angst and frustrations. It explains why political helplessness floods Hong Kong’s political consciousness.
Watching those wishing to run for the city’s most powerful post wait for Beijing’s explicit blessings, or at least non-objection, made the promise of a “high degree of autonomy” a farcical delusion.
Political powerlessness permeates our air. Woo worked hard to secure nominations and, while this system means he never stood a chance of winning, he has possibly proposed the way out of political fatalism. And it would be wise for the newly elected chief executive to take heed.
Chief executive contender Woo Kwok-hing urges criminalisation of ‘meddling’ in Hong Kong affairs
They were an affront to “one country, two systems” – and there will be repercussions that will challenge the very person those concerted efforts were supposed to benefit. The challenges of governance will be ever more pronounced. These politically stifling efforts will only exacerbate feelings of political powerlessness and feed the “political oppression” narrative the localists swear by.
The most valuable outcome of a democratic contested race is that it gives the winner the chance to pay more attention to what the voters are thinking and really want.
Impossible to govern without the public’s support, chief executive contender John Tsang says
While what we had was a far cry from a democratic or truly contested race, Tsang perhaps offered the winning candidate a way into the hearts and minds of the public. Under the current system and political environment, Tsang’s tactic would never have won him the seat. But his tactic is exactly what the chief executive-elect would need when in office, in the conduct of which public sentiment plays a crucial role.
Surely there will be plenty of opportunities to prove your critics wrong, but the work to mend the divided community – as you have pledged – begins right now.
Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA