{"id":7965,"date":"2014-09-02T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T17:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinaworker.info\/?p=7965"},"modified":"2014-09-02T12:15:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-02T04:15:03","slug":"chinas-npc-closes-the-door-on-hong-kong-democracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/09\/02\/7965\/","title":{"rendered":"China\u2019s NPC \u2018closes the door\u2019 on Hong Kong democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u201cNPC Doesn\u2019t Represent Me!\u201d \u2013 Mass resistance against one-party dictatorship is the only way forward!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Statement by Socialist Action<\/p>\n<p>The National People\u2019s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee\u2019s framework for upcoming elections in Hong Kong delivers a brutally clear message that free elections are not an option under China\u2019s one-party (CCP) dictatorship. Not only has the \u2018door been closed\u2019 on universal suffrage, Beijing has slammed it shut! The Standing Committee\u2019s ruling brushes aside popular demands for democratic elections\u00a0by insisting only pro-CCP candidates \u2013 vetted by a regime-controlled nomination committee \u2013 can run for the post of Chief Executive.<\/p>\n<p>The decision has met with anger, shock, even grief and a sense of betrayal in Hong Kong. For the democracy struggle to go forward a massive campaign is now needed to provide a channel for the anger in society. This campaign must encompass strike action, occupations, boycotts and other forms of mass civil disobedience.<\/p>\n<p>The nomination procedures for the 2017 Chief Executive\u00a0election laid down in this decision are actually more restrictive than the existing system by which CY Leung was \u2018elected\u2019 with less than 700 votes in 2012. Beijing\u2019s decision is \u201cmore undemocratic than I could imagine,\u201d confessed legislator Ronny Tong Ka-wah. These are the words of a \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democrat, who launched a failed \u2018compromise proposal\u2019 drawing strong\u00a0protests, including from Socialist Action (CWI in Hong Kong), for its abandonment of democratic principles.<\/p>\n<p>It is not only the content of the decision that is significant, but also the strident tone that accompanies Beijing\u2019s ruling. Zhang Dejiang, of China\u2019s ruling Politburo Standing Committee, said the regime is \u201cpsychologically prepared\u201d and can deal with incidents of unrest in Hong Kong. A massive black propaganda campaign against pro-democracy forces and the Occupy Central (OC) campaign, which Beijing has branded \u201cillegal\u201d, has reached a crescendo in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cEnd in bloodshed\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With the NPC\u2019s ruling, regime spokesmen have noticeably shifted to stressing \u2018national security\u2019 and an alleged plot by foreign powers to subvert China by democratising Hong Kong. This is a claim that has no basis in fact, as shown by the \u2018business before human rights\u2019 policies of the US and British governments for example. Chen Zuoer, a former deputy director of Beijing\u2019s Hong Kong and Macau Office, said the dictatorship\u2019s insistence that only \u201cpatriots\u201d (i.e. CCP supporters) could compete for the top office was no different from blocking a \u201cterrorist\u201d from governing a US state. Speaking on RTHK radio, Chen warned the Occupy Central movement would \u201cend in bloodshed\u201d \u2013 the latest of many similar warnings from CCP officials.<\/p>\n<p>The Global Times, a CCP mouthpiece, made clear the strategic thinking behind the NPC\u2019s hard line stance, saying that a showdown was now inevitable in Hong Kong, and that the Chinese regime along with its Hong Kong appendages had the \u201cresources\u201d \u2013 a reference to the forces of state repression including PLA troops \u2013 to deal with a crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe opposition in Hong Kong harbours unrealistic fantasies [about democracy] that must be broken,\u201d stated the Global Times editorial on 26 August. \u201cAs long as we are adamant not to let Hong Kong fall under the grip of Western powers, the mainland and Hong Kong will have an inexhaustible supply of resources to push the radical opposition and their backers towards desperation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Standing Committee\u2019s ruling amounts to a declaration of war on Hong Kong\u2019s democracy movement. The regime seems to have calculated there is no further value in its previous charade of \u2018dialogue\u2019 with the city\u2019s bourgeois democratic opposition leaders (pan democrats) and that it must show a firm hand to reassert its authority over the city. Perhaps it calculates that while some protests are inevitable, it can contain them and inflict a defeat on the pan democrats to push back the democracy struggle in Hong Kong, and therefore also in China.\u00a0These moves also undoubtedly reflect the deepening crisis inside the Chinese state, where a power struggle is raging. CCP leader Xi Jinping needs to\u00a0demonstrate his \u2018strong man\u2019 credentials.<\/p>\n<p>The statements by Zhang Dejiang and other officials signal that repression is being prepared, ranging from mass arrests aimed at closing down an eventual occupation, to persecution and possible detention of activists and public figures. This strategy can backfire, however, and trigger even bigger mass protests. The CCP, as the Wall Street Journal realistically pointed out: \u201cis likely to find itself in a protracted standoff with large sections of the Hong Kong population.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7967\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7967\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/media.chinaworker.info\/2014\/09\/hk-democracy-protest-e1409591095732.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-7967\" src=\"http:\/\/media.chinaworker.info\/2014\/09\/hk-democracy-protest-600x372.jpg\" alt=\"Over 500,000 marched against fake elections on July 1 \u2013 Socialist Action stall on right of picture.\" width=\"600\" height=\"372\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7967\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Over 500,000 marched against fake elections on July 1 \u2013 Socialist Action stall on right of picture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Historic challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Beijing is not only attempting to stop the clock on Hong Kong\u2019s democracy struggle, but to turn the clock backwards, a process that has already begun with more brutal police tactics against protesters, attacks on media freedom, and the funding and mobilisation of pro-regime \u2018volunteers\u2019 to harass and intimidate pro-democracy protests. The launch of the anti-Occupy Central movement is one example of this, although most of the 70,000 or so people on its march last month were paid to attend \u2013 such \u2018mercenaries\u2019 are never a reliable force in any conflict. If the regime succeeds with its current counter-revolutionary push, it will attempt to resurrect the hated \u2018Article 23\u2019 national security legislation and impose other shackles on the city\u2019s political scene.<\/p>\n<p>The most recent events therefore pose a serious, historic challenge to the democracy struggle in Hong Kong and China. A swift and powerful response is needed \u2013 a protest campaign of massive dimensions \u2013 to reject the NPC Standing Committee\u2019s ruling and hit back against the CCP\u2019s demonisation of Occupy Central and the wider democracy movement. But for this fight back to succeed, important lessons must be learned from the recent history of the struggle, which has exposed major weaknesses in the programme and strategy of the pan democratic leaders, who favour compromise and piecemeal reforms while wishing to avoid mass struggle and an explicit challenge to the rule of the dictatorship.<\/p>\n<p>This includes the leaders of the Occupy Central movement, who are close politically and tactically to the \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democrats. The OC leaders\u2019 repeated postponements, which amount to a demobilisation of the movement based on the hope of dialogue with Beijing and the Hong Kong government, have not persuaded Beijing to \u2018leave the door open\u2019 for talks. Instead, valuable time has been lost for building the kind of mass movement the situation demands. For the CCP, however, the mere threat of an occupation conjures up memories of 1989 \u2013 a crisis in which it came close to losing power.<\/p>\n<p>The supporters of Socialist Action have consistently criticised the timid approach of OC leaders and the long delay in starting Occupy Central. We have stressed that in order to win \u2013 to defeat the dictatorship and not merely make a symbolic protest \u2013 occupation can only serve as a springboard to escalation, in which the question of strike action, by students and also by workers, will be a decisive element.<\/p>\n<p>This must be linked to building mass organisations, especially fighting trade unions and a mass party of the working class \u2013 to give the democracy struggle economic muscle and political leadership. A socialist and anti-capitalist orientation that links democratic demands to the need to eradicate Hong Kong\u2019s deepening poverty, excessive work hours, and extreme housing costs, is the key to widening the movement not just inside Hong Kong but also gaining an echo among the Chinese masses.<\/p>\n<p>Some very revealing statements have been made by CCP officials explaining that the nomination committee and vetting of candidates is needed to \u201cprotect\u201d Hong Kong\u2019s billionaire tycoons and their interests. \u201cA small group of people, a small group of elites \u2026 control the destiny of Hong Kong\u2026 That&#8217;s a reality,\u201d said Wang Zhenmin, dean of the Tsinghua University School of Law in Beijing, in defence of\u00a0the elitist composition of the nomination committee at a forum in Hong Kong. The capitalists\u2019 hostility\u00a0towards democracy is shown by public attacks on Occupy Central \u2013 towards any challenge to\u00a0the CCP\u2019s undemocratic rules in other words \u2013 from Hong Kong corporate leaders but also from the local chambers of commerce of Canadian, Indian and Italian capitalists among others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe\u2019ve been cheated\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been cheated again and again, democracy has been postponed again and again,\u201d said former Democratic Party leader Martin Lee, expressing a commonly held view among people in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist Action has consistently warned the CCP regime could not be trusted to honour its previous vague assurances to allow the introduction of universal suffrage. It is absurd to expect a dictatorship to organise free and fair elections. Unfortunately, it is just this premise that the pan democratic leaders have based their strategy and policy upon. Throughout history, democratic rights have only ever been achieved \u2013 directly or sometimes indirectly \u2013 as a result of revolutionary struggle against autocratic rule. In most of Europe, universal suffrage was not introduced until after the victory of the first workers\u2019 government in the Russian Revolution of 1917, which forced ruling capitalist elites across Europe to make democratic concessions out of fear they too would be consumed by revolution.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s needed today is a strategy to defeat the one-party regime, a strategy based on mass struggle in Hong Kong but crucially also in mainland China. Without such a struggle, turning especially to the vast super-exploited working class of China, Hong Kong\u2019s democratic aspirations will not be achieved due to the \u2018asymmetric\u2019 nature of this conflict.<\/p>\n<p>The Hong Kong \u2018nativists\u2019, who have grown by feeding upon frustration with the lack of struggle from the pan democratic leaders, have not understood this reality. Whereas the \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democrats believe Hong Kong can strike its own compromise with the dictatorship, the nativists believe Hong Kong can confront\u00a0the dictatorship on its own. Both repeat the same basic mistake but in a different guise, of refusing to see the powerful antagonism between the Chinese elite and the working masses. The nativists\u2019 racist ideas are a serious obstacle to building a unified mass movement against the dictatorship, which is the only road to victory. At the same time, the NPC ruling and Beijing\u2019s hardline stance will inevitably lead to increased popular support for the idea of \u201cgenuine autonomy\u201d and even for independence from China, a mood the nativists exploit.<\/p>\n<p>By giving the CCP\u2019s empty promises of reform greater value than they merit, the \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democratic leaders have helped the CCP regime perpetrate its confidence trick in Hong Kong. This has happened \u201cagain and again\u201d as Martin Lee has admitted.<\/p>\n<p>For the movement to go forward it must abandon such illusions in the CCP\u2019s willingness or ability to make democratic concessions. This process \u2013 the end of illusions \u2013 has taken a huge leap forward after the NPC ruling, at least among grassroots activists, workers and youth. The reason for the CCP\u2019s inflexibility, which at first sight seems contradictory (concessions to the democracy movement would win the regime some credibility at least for a time) is its fear that any future Hong Kong administration that is not fully under its control could set off shockwaves across China, potentially threatening the dictatorship\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cTake it or leave it!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The CCP\u2019s strategy in Hong Kong, using a carrot-and-stick approach, has been to foment a split in the pan democratic camp by terrifying its leaders over the consequences of \u201cextreme\u201d acts such as Occupy Central. The regime had hoped, although perhaps this has now changed, that the \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democrats\u2019 innate fear of mass struggle, and specifically their fear that a mass occupation movement could develop out of their control, would pressurise the required four or five pan democratic legislators to split and vote for\u00a0the government\u2019s plan in Hong Kong\u2019s legislature (that vote will take place in the middle of next year). This scenario is still not excluded, despite statements by leading Democratic Party figures (the most likely to defect to the government\u2019s side) expressing horror at the Standing Committee\u2019s ruling. \u201cIt is the worse scenario I can imagine,\u201d confessed Ip Kin-yuen, a legislator from the Professional Teachers\u2019 Union and prominent \u2018moderate\u2019. Democratic Party leader Emily Lau Wai-hing said the decision made people \u201cnauseous\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>For Beijing it appears a \u2018Plan B\u2019 has emerged whereby no pan democratic split\u00a0occurs and the reform plan is duly vetoed in the legislature. In this case Beijing will blame the pan democrats for \u201cpreventing the introduction of universal suffrage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This, however, is a recipe for massive discontent, further radicalisation of the democracy struggle, and a deepening governance crisis. If on the other hand Beijing\u2019s\u00a0framework is approved (with the help of pan democratic defections) the outcome could be a massive boycott movement in 2017 against the \u201cfake election\u201d involving staggering levels of blank votes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_7968\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7968\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/media.chinaworker.info\/2014\/09\/bennytai-r-0714-net2-e1409591210797.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-7968\" src=\"http:\/\/media.chinaworker.info\/2014\/09\/bennytai-r-0714-net2-600x372.jpg\" alt=\"Professor Benny Tai, spokesman for Occupy Central campaign. \" width=\"600\" height=\"372\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-7968\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor Benny Tai, spokesman for Occupy Central campaign.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Crisis for pan democrats<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The \u2018moderate\u2019 pan democrats have been thrown into a state of shock and deep pessimism by the outcome \u2013 completely unforeseen by them \u2013 of the Standing Committee meeting. But shock does not necessarily lead to a rethink, although at the time of writing the pan democratic leaders are under massive pressure from within society to\u00a0condemn the NPC decision. The dictatorship\u2019s policy is causing a very sharp political polarisation, with the\u00a0\u00a0so-called \u2018middle ground\u2019 being squeezed. \u201cI do not see a future for moderates in Hong Kong politics,\u201d was the very telling comment made by leading moderate Ronny Tong Ka-wah of the Civic Party.<\/p>\n<p>In coming months the CCP will step up its psychological pressure on these politicians, to forestall a \u201chistoric crisis\u201d by voting for the government\u2019s election model. This will be based on the threat that if its plan is vetoed, as the pan democrats now threaten, Beijing will block future modifications of the system for many years to come. Only massive pressure from below can insure that the \u2018moderates\u2019 do not, despite their fiery speeches today, eventually break ranks \u2013 as happened in 2010 \u2013 and enable the government\u2019s plan to pass. A campaign to solidify the veto should be launched immediately, to build mass pressure upon the \u2018moderate\u2019 legislators to sign a pledge to this effect.<\/p>\n<p>Radical forces, most notably \u2018Long Hair\u2019 Leung Kwok-hung of the LSD, want to initiate a new version of the \u2018de facto referendum\u2019 as happened in 2010, with resignations from the legislature to trigger by-elections across the city. If this is linked to a genuine mass campaign from below, to maximise pressure on the \u2018moderates\u2019 to reject the fake election model, it can serve as an important platform for the struggle.<\/p>\n<p>While many activists and especially youth had hoped and assumed the NPC ruling would be the start signal for occupation, OC leaders have not acted on this in yet another sign of their hesitancy in the face of struggle. Benny Tai Yiu-ting of OC now speaks of a \u201ccontinuous and long-term\u201d civil disobedience campaign. This is not in itself an incorrect idea, but there is a danger such statements are a cover for further inaction. Staggered, partial protests will only dissipate rather than build upon the current mass anger. This is unfortunately the implication in the rather vague idea of \u201cwaves of struggle\u201d now being put forward by pan democratic and OC leaders.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist Action have never put forward occupation as the only or main tactic for the mass struggle. From the inception of OC we have argued occupation can be a launching pad, but more effective methods of mass action are needed such as strikes, starting in the schools and colleges, and then turning to the working class. We also explained that an indefinite occupation can be difficult to sustain. Our arguments are based on the actual experience of mass \u2018Occupy\u2019 movements in the US, Spain, Greece and other countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Organise and strike!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>An extremely positive development in the current deliberations within the democracy struggle is that more and more groups, now including the main student federation in Hong Kong, have begun to take up the idea of strikes by university and school students. This is something that Socialist Action has long campaigned for. A well-organised citywide school strike could become a powerful pointer of the way forward. While workers\u2019 organisations are historically weak in Hong Kong, and workers\u2019 strikes are rare, the example of the youth can act as a spur also in the workplaces, which is a key to winning this struggle.<\/p>\n<p>Socialist Action are campaigning actively at universities and schools to build for the strike, to stress the need for organisation, strike committees, and collective action. This is in contrast to individualised classroom boycotts or top-down faculty-led protests as proposed by some sections of the movement. They see this as an \u2018easier\u2019, less confrontational method, while in fact the success of the struggle depends on mass action and the building of democratic and fighting organisations in every campus and workplace.<\/p>\n<p>The NPC ruling opens a new chapter of the democracy struggle in Hong Kong and China. It is characterised by the crushing of illusions, the undermining of the \u2018compromise\u2019 camp, and sharp political polarisation throughout society. Elements of both revolution and counterrevolution are evident in this situation, which cries out for the creation within the democracy struggle of a mass working class party combining democratic demands\u00a0with\u00a0a programme to overthrow corrupt and dictatorial capitalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cNPC Doesn\u2019t Represent Me!\u201d \u2013 Mass resistance against one-party dictatorship is the only way forward! Statement by Socialist Action The National People\u2019s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee\u2019s framework for upcoming elections in Hong Kong delivers a brutally clear message that free elections are not an option under China\u2019s one-party (CCP) dictatorship. Not only has the \u2018door [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":7966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[132,133,124],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7965","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-china","8":"category-hong-kong","9":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>China\u2019s NPC \u2018closes the door\u2019 on Hong Kong democracy - China Worker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/09\/02\/7965\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"China\u2019s NPC \u2018closes the door\u2019 on Hong Kong democracy - China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cNPC Doesn\u2019t Represent Me!\u201d \u2013 Mass resistance against one-party dictatorship is the only way forward! Statement by Socialist Action The National People\u2019s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee\u2019s framework for upcoming elections in Hong Kong delivers a brutally clear message that free elections are not an option under China\u2019s one-party (CCP) dictatorship. Not only has the \u2018door [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chinaworker.info\/en\/2014\/09\/02\/7965\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"China Worker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SocialistAction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-01T17:10:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-02T04:15:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/media1.chinaworker.info\/2014\/09\/BN-EI338_0831hk_G_20140831130944.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"553\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"369\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"15 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"China\u2019s NPC \u2018closes the door\u2019 on Hong Kong democracy\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-09-01T17:10:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-02T04:15:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2915,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/media1.chinaworker.info\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/BN-EI338_0831hk_G_20140831130944.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"China\",\"Hong Kong\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/chinaworker.info\\\/en\\\/2014\\\/09\\\/02\\\/7965\\\/\",\"name\":\"China\u2019s NPC \u2018closes the door\u2019 on Hong Kong democracy - 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