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Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture?

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Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture? China Perspectives 2007/2 | 2007 Hong Kong. Ten Years Later Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture? Jean-Philippe Béja Édition électronique URL : http://journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/1583 DOI : 10.4000/chinaperspectives.1583 ISSN : 1996-4617 Éditeur Centre d'étude français sur la Chine contemporaine Édition imprimée Date de publication : 15 avril 2007 ISSN : 2070-3449 Référence électronique Jean-Philippe Béja, « Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture? », China Perspectives [En ligne], 2007/2 | 2007, mis en ligne le 08 avril 2008, consulté le 28 octobre 2019. URL : http:// journals.openedition.org/chinaperspectives/1583 ; DOI : 10.4000/chinaperspectives.1583 © All rights reserved Special feature s e v Is Hong Kong Developing a i a t c n i e Democratic Political Culture? h p s c r e JEAN-PHILIPPE BÉJA p ong Kong will not be ready for universal suf - who stress their belonging to China, they are still in a minor - frage until around 2022 because its people ity. This justifies the approach of this article, which will be “H lack a sense of national identity ((1) ”. This dec - to study those elements which are specific to Hong Kong’s laration by Ma Lik, chairman of the pro-Beijing Democratic political culture. Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, shows how the question of national identity is so central to The emergence of a specific political debate in Hong Kong that it sets the terms for the Hong Kong political culture territory’s democratic development, even though this is al - ready laid down in the Basic Law. Starting in the 1970s, the former British colony saw the de - Since 1997 the authorities have frequently denounced what velopment of its own political culture, focused on the de - they see as “foreign” in the political culture of the former fence of basic human rights. This underwent continual de - colony. For example, in 2002 the Chief Executive Tung velopment throughout the 1980s, and the Beijing authorities Chee-hwa stated his desire to change it, when he attacked certainly made their own contribution by setting up the Martin Lee for criticising his leadership ((2) : “Our culture is Basic Law Drafting Committee and the Basic Law Consul - changing. It is in nobody’s interest to continually badmouth tative Committee, to which, for the first time, representa - Hong Kong ((3) .” In the same vein, the Beijing leadership has tives from the various active sectors of the colony’s popula - constantly reiterated over the last ten years that the Hong tion were invited to express their opinion on the Territory’s Kong population ought to display more patriotism (which in future. These institutions functioned as a kind of school in Chinese communist-speak means supporting the Party). political participation, just like the Legislative Council That is why, in their eagerness to please the central govern - (Legco) which had recently admitted elected members. It ment, the SAR authorities decided to have the national an - can be said therefore that the actions of the Beijing govern - them played regularly on the television. ment helped to increase local people’s interest in politics, National identity is unquestionably an important element in particularly among the middle classes whose importance was a political culture, but, when analysing this concept in its steadily increasing. context, it is useful to explore how the people of Hong Kong But there can be no doubt that it was the pro- democracy themselves see their identity. Regular surveys have been movement in China which was a watershed in the formation conducted to throw light on the SAR’s inhabitants’ attitudes, of the political culture of Hong Kong. When the students and they reveal a contrasted image. Experts in this area have began to demonstrate in the streets of Beijing in April 1989, agreed on a definition of four different kinds of identity: two there was immediate sympathy on the part of the Hong place the emphasis on membership of the SAR, namely Kong population, especially among the youth. And on 20 “Hong Kong citizens” ( Heunggong yahn 香港人 ) and May, when Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng declared mar - “Hong Kong citizens of Chinese origin” ( Junggwok dik He - tial law, the entire population was galvanised. The PRC unggong yahn 中国的香港人 ), while the other two em - regime, which eight years later was to rule Hong Kong, re - phasise Chinese identity, namely “Chinese” ( Junggwok vealed its brutality. “Beijing’s today is Hong Kong’s tomor - yahn 中国人 ) and “Chinese citizens of Hong Kong” ( He - row” was one of the slogans repeated by the million demon - unggong dik Junggwok yahn 香港的中国人 ). strators (out of a population of five million) who took to the The survey results show that since 1997 over half the peo - ple interviewed have opted for one of the first two cate - gories, which means they attach great importance to the spe - 1. Ambrose Leung, “Furore at DAB’s Chief Tirade,” South China Morning Post , 15 May 2007 2. Lee had accused Tung of turning the SAR into a “sick chicken” (in place of the former cial status of Hong Kong. And even though there is a no - goose that laid the golden eggs). ticeable regular increase in the percentage of inhabitants 3. South China Morning Post , 8 February 2002. 4 N o 2007/2 Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture? s Table 1. The question of identity e v i a t c n i e h p s c r e p 5 N o 2007/2 People lighting candles in memory of the victims of June 4th streets on 21 May to protest against the proclamation of mar - June 4th: a watershed tial law in Beijing. Two weeks later, the 4 June massacre in Tiananmen Square sounded the death knell for optimism in In his declaration deploring Hong Kong people’s lack of a Hong Kong, and again a million of its inhabitants took part “sense of national identity”, quoted above, the chairman of in a massive demonstration. Thus, 4 June was a turning the DAB went on to complain that “many still believe there point in the development of political awareness in the Terri - was a massacre in Tiananmen Square in 1989.” tory. It gave a major boost to the movement for democracy Ma Lik is right to be worried. Every year since 4 June 1990, in Hong Kong, and was a key moment in the formation of whatever the weather, tens of thousands of people have held its political culture. a vigil in Victoria Park. Hong Kong people from all walks of Contrary to many observers’ expectations, that culture life come in family groups and light candles, as for the mid- has continued to develop and strengthen since the han - Autumn festival, in memory of the victims of the bullets of dover of the Territory to the motherland. It has been the People’s Liberation Army. They listen to speeches by structured around a number of key dates, principles and Szeto Wah, Chairman of the Alliance in Support of the Pa - institutions. There is no doubt that it has enabled the triotic pro-Democracy Movement in China, which was SAR to retain its own special status, despite the hostile founded in May 1989, and they watch interviews of the environment exemplified by Beijing’s refusal for any de - leaders of the Tiananmen protest movement, or of Ding velopment towards democracy to take place, in contraven - tion of the promises contained in annexes I and II of the Basic Law ((4) . 4. See the article by Michael Davis in this issue 6 N o 2007/2 Is Hong Kong Developing a Democratic Political Culture? s Table 2. “Do you think that the Chinese Table 3. “Do you support a revision of the e v i a Government did the right thing in the June 4 official stand on the 4 June incident?” t c n Incident?” i e h p s c r e p d u o i l l i B n e i t s a b é S June 4th baggage” and look to the future. Rumours about © public works in Victoria Park raised fears that the celebra - tions to mark the ninth anniversary of the massacre could not take place. Despite such fears, 50,000 people gathered to - gether on the eve of the first anniversary since the handover, and for the fifteenth anniversary in 2004, there were 82,000 participants ((5) . This was the largest gathering since 1997. Zilin, founder of the Tiananmen mothers’ organisation. They This regular event has an undeniable importance in the po - shout slogans calling for the rehabilitation of the movement, litical life of Hong Kong. All the opinion polls show that the sing the songs which accompanied the 1989 demonstrations, population continues to condemn the massacre carried out and reaffirm their commitment to democracy in Hong Kong. by the People’s Liberation Army eighteen years ago. To the It is a sort of secular democratic ritual. Despite the passing of question “Do you think the Chinese Government did the the years, the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, and right thing in the June 4 Incident?” the number of negative the replacement of one Chief Executive by another, the vigil replies was 63.1% in 1997, and 63.4% in 2006. These fig - on 4 June still attracts considerable crowds. This vigil consti - ures reveal a remarkable consistency. tutes an essential part of the political culture, and even of the The natural sequel to this condemnation is that the majority political identity of Hong Kong.
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