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Following is a speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Donald Tsang, at the Annual Gala Dinner of the Asia Society Washington Center tonight (October 27, Washington time) at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Washington DC:
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for such a warm welcome, and thank you most sincerely for the honour you have given me tonight. It is always a humbling experience to receive an award such as this, but even more so from an organisation whose core mission is to increase understanding between Asia and the US. For almost 50 years, the Asia Society has provided a forum for engagement between Asia and America, and I am very happy to play a part in this important and ongoing mission tonight.
I will certainly do all that I can to ensure that this dialogue continues to become stronger, broader and deeper.
Indeed, there is nothing like a face-to-face dialogue to further cement the already strong bonds of friendship that exist between Hong Kong and the United States.
It is no fluke that Hong Kong remains the location of choice for US business in Asia. We're home to about 50 000 US citizens, and more than 1200 US companies - big and small. US companies account for more than a fifth of the regional operations of all overseas companies in Hong Kong - the largest number from any country. They operate in an environment that is both familiar and comfortable.
We share many of the same values, and are committed to upholding the rights and freedoms of our people. Free speech, a free and open media, freedom of belief, freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom of assembly - to name a few. These are entrenched in law in Hong Kong - as is the right to protect our lawful interests in the courts.
Our constitutional document, the Basic Law, enshrines our commitment to economic freedom. It protects our capitalist system and way of life. These are the foundations of our past and future success. They allow us to play to our strengths in the international arena. They define our role as a Special Administrative Region of China. They set us apart in Asia. We espouse them. We will vigorously protect them.
Democracy is another value that both the people of Hong Kong and the US cherish. And this is what I would like to focus on tonight. From what I am hearing here in Washington, I know that Hong Kong's political development is of interest to the US Administration, as well as to organisations such as the Asia Society. It is of interest generally to the international community, because many see our political development as a litmus test for 'One Country, Two Systems' and our promised high degree of autonomy.
In the days of instant news and sexy sound bites, it is often difficult to get a full picture of what is happening on an issue as complicated as political development in a tiny place like Hong Kong that is half-way around the world. You cannot distil the issue into a pithy 10-paragraph news story, or a 20-second interview on TV. So, tonight, I want to provide you with some insight and context into how the political development process is working in Hong Kong - and what the future holds in this regard.
Some might say that political development is not that complicated; that all we need to do is introduce one man, one vote and voila! - instant democracy. It is not that simple. The long history of democratic evolution in the United States, from the Declaration of Independence to full universal suffrage, attests to the complexity of this development.
To make things more difficult, there is no one-size-fits-all model for democracy. Every democratic system in every country is different. So we in Hong Kong must find our own way forward, in our own time, and with a formula that works for our community and our nation. That is what we are doing.
It is worthy of note that Hong Kong has followed a unique trajectory of democratic development. In many other societies, democracy spawns the rule of law, liberty, human rights, economic development and a government that serves the well-being of the people. In Hong Kong, we have all these goodies before we have a full-fledged democratic system. Hong Kong's uniqueness is the outcome of its distinct path of historical development and its unparalleled international setting. Because of this unique political character of Hong Kong, a majority of the people of Hong Kong are adamant that Hong Kong's process of democratization should be sustainable.
To be sustainable, Hong Kong's democratic development has to be accompanied by faithful implementation of the Basic Law, preservation of a good relationship with the Central People's Government, political stability, effective governance, the maintenance of liberties, the protection of human rights (particularly the rights of those holding minority views), retention of a favorable investment environment, a low tax regime and the prevention of excessive populism. Indeed, the people of Hong Kong demand their Government take a cautious and incremental approach toward democratization.
Personally, I support universal suffrage for Hong Kong as early as possible. I make no bones about that. There is no doubt that Hong Kong people are worldly-wise and sophisticated enough to elect their own political leaders. But the development of our political system is not up to me alone. And while I will do my best to make our system as representative as possible, I must also operate within certain parameters, legal parameters and political parameters.
Legally, the Basic Law sets out the timetable and structure of political development for the first decade after 1997. We have had three legislative elections since 1997. Every time, we have increased the number of directly elected seats. These three elections were hotly contested by candidates of all political persuasions. We have more democracy now than we ever had under the British colonial administration. And I am firmly committed to ensuring that this process of political development continues in Hong Kong. The next opportunities we have are the 2007 Chief Executive election and the 2008 Legislative Council election.
The Basic Law also provides a mechanism to change our electoral methods after 2007. Any changes must be in a gradual and orderly manner, according to law. The changes must have the express support of two-thirds of the legislature, the incumbent Chief Executive, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The ultimate aim is universal suffrage - for both the elections of the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council.
In accordance with our Basic Law, our sovereign government defined last year the scope of the changes allowed for the next election of the Chief Executive in 2007 and the next election of our Legislative Council in 2008. While they laid down the ground rules for what is possible and what is not, they provided enough room for advancement towards universal suffrage in the next set of elections. Their decision is legally and constitutionally binding. It is only natural that our sovereign would take a close interest in our political development. I see nothing unusual in that. Indeed, it would be irresponsible for any sovereign not to take a very close interest in the constitutional development of its regional governments. Hong Kong cannot act unilaterally in this regard, although some people naively believe we can and should.
They have forgotten that Hong Kong is a part of China. Our political development is as much a national issue as it is an issue for Hong Kong.
At the same time, our sovereign is determined to uphold the Basic Law, including the specific provisions on political development in Hong Kong. She has acted faithfully, responsibly and transparently in this regard since the enactment of the Basic Law. My job as Chief Executive is to work within all of the constitutional parameters and devise a set of proposals for change that are acceptable to our sovereign, to our legislature, and to the people of Hong Kong.
Now you can get an idea of what I meant earlier when I said it's not that simple even for Hong Kong. But I am determined to make a success of the opportunities we have been given.
Last week we released a package of measures to boost the electoral franchise for the 2007 and 2008 elections. I believe it represents a significant step forward on the road to universal suffrage. My Administration will be lobbying hard to get the necessary support from legislators. Not easy because we need a two-thirds majority of legislators and most of our bills are passed by a slender majority, not two thirds.
My aim is to ensure that the arrangements for these next two major elections are more open and inclusive; and also lay the foundations for further development of our own 'Made in Hong Kong' model of democracy.
The new package of proposals is our immediate political challenge. It is a defining moment for political development in Hong Kong because what happens next sets the scene for our future reform efforts. If we don't succeed in steering this package through the Legislative Council on this occasion, then the status quo remains. The hard work over the past two years of intensive and widespread consultation and of putting the proposals together will be lost.
Worse still, the mutual trust we have taken pains to build up between the Central Government and ourselves, which we will need to take our democratisation forward, may dissipate.
In practical terms, we would then have to wait until at least 2012 - when both the Chief Executive and Legislative Council elections are held - before we could see an expansion of the electoral franchise. I think that would be a great pity, and an opportunity lost for Hong Kong. The debate has just begun in Hong Kong.
I have faith in our legislators in ultimately reaching the right decision, because the package of proposals announced by the Administration last Wednesday has the support of a majority of Hong Kong people.
Looking to 2012 and even beyond, we must give serious thought to the type of political system we want for Hong Kong, and how to develop it. As I mentioned earlier, there is no one-size-fits-all model for democracy. You only have to look around the world. The principle is the same, but the practice is different.
What's good for the US, the UK or Canada; or Japan, Singapore or South Korea is not necessarily suited to Hong Kong. So, there is a wide diversity of democracy in this world.
Indeed, we are starting the whole process rather late. It was only in 1991 that we had our first elections to the legislature. Before that, all members were appointed by the British administration, including the Governor who was appointed by London. We have also inherited a structure that incorporates people elected in geographical constituencies, and those elected in what we call functional constituencies representing important sectors such as the labour unions, chambers of commerce, health services, social welfare, industry, manufacturing, financial services and even rural communities. These functional constituencies represent powerful interests in the community, and are entrenched in our political system.
For the Chief Executive election, it is fairly clear what we mean by universal suffrage - that is, every voter having a chance to elect the leader of the Hong Kong SAR. But for the legislature, the Basic Law is silent on how we are to achieve universal suffrage.
For example, do we stick with our uni-cameral system, or do we move towards a bi-cameral system prevalent in most advanced democracies?
Do we retain the functional constituencies? If we don't, how can we phase them out without arousing a long drawn out political upheaval and uncertainty, entailing serious economic consequences for our people? Do we look to the bicameral Congressional system you have here in the United States as our model for reform? Or, are we more suited to the Parliamentary, also bicameral, models in the UK or Canada? Do we stick with our proportional voting system, or do we adopt a first-past-the-post system? All of these systems have evolved over a long period of time elsewhere. We need time too, hopefully much shorter than most others. There are fundamental questions about the structure of our future system that we have not yet even started to address. This is something that all our political parties, lobby groups, activists, academics and the man and woman in the street need to think about seriously.
We also need to groom more political talent. At the moment, the largest political party in Hong Kong has about 3,500 members, while the next largest one has about 800 members. In a city of almost 7 million, such numbers are quite low. So, we need to look for ways to help political parties develop and mature. This takes time, too.
In my first Policy Address earlier this month, I unveiled plans to enhance governance in Hong Kong. One of the ways we will do this is to bring in more people, from a broader cross-section of the community, to serve on our advisory boards and statutory bodies. We will significantly boost the strength of our Commission on Strategic Development, which is our most important advisory body. We will empower our district level councils to manage certain local services. This will give District Councillors a taste of political responsibility, and a greater say in providing the services that are so important to local communities. Part of what I am trying to do is to make our government more inclusive. If we make better use of the huge pool of specialised knowledge in the community, we can develop policies that dovetail more closely with society's needs and requirements. As a result, more people will have become part of the decision-making process. But another aspect of what I am trying to do is to provide more avenues to nurture political talent. In this way we can more fully implement the principle of 'Hong Kong people running Hong Kong' as envisaged in the Basic Law.
Here, I must also mention that it is up to us in Hong Kong to prove that we do indeed have the ability to be masters of our own house. Rather than endless bickering over our differences, we need to look for common ground when discussing our political development, and use this as a basis for building trust - not just between the various political parties and the government in Hong Kong; but also between Hong Kong people and our sovereign after a separation of one and a half centuries. Trust remains the key element in going forward.
Eight years after reunification Hong Kong is now entering a new phase of economic, political and social development. Economically, we are in the best shape we have been in years and our prospects are quite bright. That can easily be the subject of another speech, another time.
Socially and politically, Hong Kong is developing and maturing. Our political development is just one important issue that we have to deal with to ensure our ongoing prosperity, and the faithful implementation of 'One Country, Two Systems'. I know that, and our national leaders know that.
Ladies and gentlemen, in the runup to 1997 there were those who predicted that 'One Country, Two Systems' would never work. Since then, when we hit a bump in the road, some have muttered: "Is this the end of Hong Kong?" Time and again we have proved the sceptics wrong. For sure, 'One Country, Two Systems' is about protecting the rights and freedoms we enjoy under the 'two systems' part of the formula. We are a free society under the rule of law, and we vigorously defend all of those freedoms that make us such an open society and successful economy. But, 'One Country, Two Systems' is also about defining our role within China; how we can make best use of our 'special' status and strengths to help our country develop and engage the world. We are just eight years into this remarkable undertaking. It is a solemn mission, but one I know that our national leaders are firmly committed to its success. As are all of us in Hong Kong.
Thank you very much.
Ends/Friday, October 28, 2005
Issued at HKT 12:54
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