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MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS FROM: ELLEN BORK, Deputy Director SUBJECT: Beijing Squeezes Hong Kong On Friday, Beijing announced that it will tell Hong Kong's people how far they can go with their efforts to establish democracy. Later this week, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress - China's "legislature" - will convene to interpret provisions of Hong Kong's "constitution," the Basic Law, that deal with how Hong Kong's chief executive and the legislature are chosen. Beijing is clearly alarmed over demands for democracy in Hong Kong and fears that pro-democracy candidates will gain in next September's elections, upsetting careful arrangements that Beijing has made to give the appearance of democracy, while keeping its progress firmly under control. No matter what happens this week, the significance of Beijing's decision to intervene in the matter of Hong Kong's democracy cannot be underestimated; it has profound implications for Hong Kong's autonomy. More important, Beijing's decision to interpret the Basic Law exposes the speciousness of U.S. policy. Since 1997, Washington has pretended that Hong Kong is autonomous and is run by the Hong Kong people themselves. In fact, Beijing set up a system in 1997 that ensures the Communist Party direct and indirect control over the most important matters. Beijing's control extends beyond the areas of defense and foreign affairs, as was agreed in the international treaty between Great Britain and China - Beijing picks the chief executive, and its proxies control the legislature. Moreover, a provision of the Basic Law, written by Beijing, gives China the power to interpret the Basic Law itself. While the system allows Beijing to maintain the appearance of remaining aloof from Hong Kong's affairs, it has been in fact deeply involved. Sometimes interference came in the form of subtle warnings and threats. But then, in 1999, Beijing intervened directly, using the power to interpret the Basic Law to effectively override a judicial decision by Hong Kong's highest court. The message was clear - Hong Kong's judicial independence would not be allowed to trump the Communist Party's control. Support for democracy in Hong Kong is undeniable. Last summer, a demonstration by over one half million Hong Kong people forced Beijing to postpone plans to impose new laws on national security that could be used to limit freedoms of association, religion, labor, speech and the press. Now, Beijing will decide what the Basic Law means for a second time. Despite the frequent and misleading use of terms like "constitutional development" and the "intent of the framers" by Beijing's Hong Kong proxies, the fate of democracy in Hong Kong rests purely on a political decision by Beijing. The challenge the
U.S. faces is clear. Its position has been to support democracy as provided
for in the Basic Law, despite the obvious obstacles this document puts
in the path of democracy. By deferring to the Basic Law, which does not
have democratic legitimacy, the U.S. has accepted Beijing's blueprint
for pseudo-democracy in Hong Kong. Unless it steps out of this trap, Washington
will sideline itself during one of the decade's most important political
developments in China and undermine the aspirations of the Hong Kong people
in the bargain.
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