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| March 2000 Legco election Power not to the people Walking in the street these days, you may be asked the same question by some of the 3,000 voter registration assistants: “Have you registered as a voter for the Legislative Council Election?” The Legislative Council Election is coming. “Have your say. Register as a voter,” the government tells us. In the classroom, we learnt to participate in community affairs. All of these cliches assumed that you have a say in the community. Your vote is sacred. That may be true, but the representatives you selected are not sacred at all. In the current Legco, only 20 out of 60 seats are elected by the popular masses, while members of functional constituencies and Election Committees are returned by small-circle elections. They are pro-Executive Branch. So even if all of the 20 Legislative Council members from the geographical constituencies vote for an issue, if the members of functional constituencies and Election Committees vote against it, the voice of democracy is mute. That explains why the decisions made by the Legco sometimes drift away from popular opinion: The Cross Harbour Tunnel raised its fees. Citizens rejected it, Legco passed it. The Urban Council and Regional Council are abolished. Citizens rejected it, Legco passed it. Even if four more seats will be returned from the geographical constituencies in the coming Legco election, the voice of the voters is still on the weaker side. The government still enjoys a comfortable majority. According to the Basic Law, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. In the next Legco election, the geographical constituencies will return 30 seats. In 2007, there will be an evaluation the politic system of Hong Kong. The general public may have a chance to taste the flavour of true democracy. When true democracy comes, however, who is willing to take one of the seats in Legco? Among today’s Legco members, many of them are student leaders and social activists in 1970s and 80s. They actively strive for the fairness of the society. When they ebb away, we have to count on today’s university students, who are described as politically apathetic. How many will step on the political arena is an open question. The young people are voters today, and they are potential candidates for the future elections. Mr. Leo Kwan, acting secretary for home affairs, said the voter registration campaign will afford the registration assistants “with a valuable lesson in civic education and allow them to contribute to community building.” But that is not enough. The government should let young people witness a truly democratic Legislative Council. When young people know that elections have the real power to improve society, they will vote, and they will be voted into office in future.
Teny Siu |
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