DEMOCRACY IN HONG KONG

---- Testimony By Martin Lee Chu-ming Member of Legislative Council in Hong Kong
To the Senate East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee (updated version)

4March 2004

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

Thank you very much for this opportunity to discuss the history and importance of the development of democracy in Hong Kong.

Being one of the elected representatives of the Hong Kong and having been engaged in the campaign for democracy for more than two decades, I am morally obliged to explain to the international communities the ongoing situation of Hong Kong, and the aspirations of our people for democracy.

I am perplexed when I hear criticisms in Hong Kong about my loyalty to my country. But I will never be inhibited about speaking. I have always supported the reunification of Hong Kong and Taiwan with my country; I oppose independence for Taiwan and Tibet, and I have the vision that the success of "One Country Two Systems" policy in Hong Kong would be conducive to our reunification with Taiwan and beneficial to the modernization of China.

On December 19, 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed, setting out the terms of the resumption of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China. In this important treaty, the Chinese government pledged to the international community and to Hong Kong people that our freedoms and way of life would continue unchanged for 50 years.

Hong Kong people were also promised "a legislature constituted by elections" and that all of our present day rights and freedoms would continue. These solemn guarantees were used to secure the support of the international and Hong Kong communities.

Since then, the United States and the international community have taken a natural interest in the development of democracy and the preservation of basic freedoms in Hong Kong.

I welcome this hearing as a continuation of our regular provision of information about developments in Hong Kong's historic transition.

The Benefits of Democracy
Hong Kong people have had democratic elections for a minority number of seats in the Legislature since 1991, and we have a free press, an independent judiciary and a lively civil society.

In order to preserve these rights and win the support of the international community, both the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, envision a gradual process of democratization with full democracy as the defined ultimate goal. The Basic Law would allow the election of our Chief Executive in 2007, and of the entire Legislative Council in 2008 by universal suffrage, subject to a change to the electoral rules according to certain defined procedures. A constitutional review in 2007 is called for in the Basic Law.

The poor performance of Tung Chee-hwa's administration has reminded Hong Kong people that a democratic and an accountable system as promised is essential for our future. They are now understandably eager to see the promises fulfilled. Public opinion survey after survey shows that Hong Kong people want to participate directly in electing their own leaders for both the legislative and executive branches.

In the latest public opinion poll, conducted last month by the Chinese University
of Hong Kong, 68.7% of Hong Kong people want the Chief Executive to
be elected by universal suffrage in 2007 and 75.6% agreed that the Legislative
Council should be directly elected in 2008. Another poll undertaken last December
by the University of Hong Kong showed similar findings. And a recent survey commissioned by Civic Exchange and conducted by the Hong Kong Transition Project showed that 88% want constitutional reform, with 81% supporting direct election of the Chief Executive.

In short, Hong Kong people want democracy.

Freedom Matters
Why does democracy matter to Hong Kong people?

Freedom and the rule of law are not just abstract theories to us. Hong Kong people truly understand that a free society protected by the rule of law will enable them to plan and lead their own way of lives without arbitrary interference from the government, to become prosperous by their own hard work and to provide good opportunities for future generations. It is what enabled Hong Kong to become the eighth largest trading center in the world.

With this, Hong Kong has become and maintained itself as an open and vibrant society where people peacefully and freely express their political views individually and through their elected representatives.

Peaceful Protests
On July 1 of last year, more than half a million Hong Kong people took to the streets to protest against proposed national security legislation, known as Article 23, and to demonstrate in favor of democratic elections. The bill would have rolled back freedoms, including those of the press, and undermined other basic liberties.

For ordinary citizens in Hong Kong, this near-passage of the pernicious bill was the catalyst in recognizing that the freedoms we have long taken for granted could not be protected over the long term without democracy. On January 1 of this year, more than 100,000 people marched to demand constitutional reform.

The Chinese government has recently had a leadership change. And our government's initial reaction to these peaceful marches by Hong Kong people was quite measured.

Leaders President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have appeared willing to listen to Hong Kong people's concerns about the local economy and taken steps to help revive it.

Presently, the governance of Tung's administration is in crisis. We have now come to the time when implementing full democracy is essential in continuing not only to ensure effective governance by the Administration, but to maintain freedoms and the rule of law.

Patriotism
In Hong Kong in recent weeks, there has been a wide public debate about the meaning of "patriotism." This debate was launched by the re-publishing of comments made by China's late leader Deng Xiaoping, that only "patriots" who "love the motherland" should be allowed to hold government office.

Equating our demand for democracy to the quest for independence is groundless. In fact, far from seeking for independence, Hong Kong people want to see our country, China, become not just a large nation, but a great one.

We believe we are truly patriotic because as we see it, democracy is the only way to make "one country, two systems" work in the long term and the success of "one country, two systems" is conducive to the reunification of Taiwan, and beneficial to the modernization of our Nation.

China's New Leaders
Our new leaders President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, have won the admiration of many people in Hong Kong for the way they handled the SARS crisis last year. In his recent visit to Hong Kong, Premier Wen has gained a good impression from Hong Kong people by showing himself to be a responsive leader.

President Hu delivered a speech to the Australian Parliament last year, saying that the government was increasingly involving the Chinese people in decision-making and would take concrete steps to safeguard the legitimate rights of the people.

President Hu said, "Democracy is the common pursuit of mankind, and all countries must earnestly protect the democratic rights of their people."

I couldn't agree more.

In addition to our leadership change in China, there are other factors that should lead to a more open approach to democracy. China is now a member of the World Trade Organization, an achievement I strongly encouraged on previous visits to Washington.

Beijing is already preparing to host the Olympic Games in 2008. China has signed two key international covenants, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Building Trust
On a visit to the United States in 2002, our President Hu spoke to the U.S. China Business Council. He said:

"China needs to deepen its understanding of the U.S., so does the U.S. of China. Enhanced understanding and trust between the two sides will help boost a healthy growth of bilateral relations."

I think those were very wise words and good advice from our leader about U.S.-China relations.

Although the relationship between Hong Kong and China is not a country to country relationship but rather Hong Kong being an inseparable part of China, I also believe that these words are excellent advice for how our leaders in China should deal with the people of Hong Kong.

After nearly seven years of reunification, we hope to embark on a path of mutual trust and cooperation with our new Chinese leaders.

And we hope that our Chinese leaders will in turn honor their own promise that "Hong Kong people will rule Hong Kong" in a meaningful way - through democratic elections.