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Beijing Cleaning House in Hong Kong Summary Beijing's appointment of two new deputy heads to the Central Government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong begins to reveal its plans for managing political reform in the Special Administrative Region. Analysis The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has increased its presence in the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong with two additions to the Central Government's Liaison Office (CLO) -- the governmental body that represents Beijing in the SAR. The appointments are part of a plan to improve stability in Hong Kong and maintain it as an important economic engine and political model. The Strait Times reports that Peng Qinghua and Li Guikang were promoted to deputy heads of the CLO. Peng is stepping in from a former post at the CCP's Central Organization Department, the group responsible for keeping order among the CCP's numerous members. Li was the mayor of Dongguna, a prosperous city in neighboring Guangdong province. The two new representatives bring the number of deputy heads, which carry vice-ministerial rank, to eight, the largest ever in the SAR. Their presence marks an all-time low in Beijing's confidence in Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa to manage Hong Kong after the July 1, 2003 mass demonstrations injected a new political consciousness into the city. The July rally protested the incorporation of Article 23 -- a set of anti-subversion regulations that raised concerns about the loss of rights and freedoms -- into Hong Kong's Basic Law. Since then, Beijing and its representatives have suffered a series of setbacks. Tung's popularity has sunk so low that he has begun avoiding public appearances. And in district council elections in the end of November 2003, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) -- the Beijing-backed political party in the region -- suffered a sharp reversal of fortune at the hands of the Democratic Party. Over the same period, pro-democracy advocates have increased pressure on Tung to introduce direct elections for choosing the next chief executive in 2007 and the Legislative Council in 2008. Under the present system, a pro-Beijing electoral committee elects the chief executive. Also, half of the 60 members of the Legislative Council will be directly elected, while the remaining members are appointed or elected by special-interest groups called "functional constituencies," which lean heavily toward Beijing. Pro-democracy advocates kept the pressure on with another demonstration by tens of thousands of people on Jan. 1. And much to China's chagrin, the campaign for democratic reform has caused the United States to publicly back "electoral reform and universal suffrage" in Hong Kong in a statement by the U.S. State Department early in 2004. In response, Beijing has used a heavier hand in Hong Kong's affairs. Reportedly, Peng is a trusted protege of Chinese Vice- President Zeng Qinghong, who oversees Hong Kong. Peng probably is in town to see that the appropriate heads roll for allowing the situation to become unfavorable to the CCP -- and the first to go will probably be CLO director Gao Siren. Beijing also appears to have sidelined Tung. After Tung's annual address, the state-run Xinhua News Agency published a statement from a Chinese government spokesman expressing Beijing's view that Tung should "conduct thorough consultations with relevant departments of the central government" concerning political reform. Donald Tsang, Hong Kong's second leading official, will head a task force to examine political reform. The committee will travel to Beijing to meet with leaders after the Lunar New Year on Jan. 22. For Beijing, the stakes in Hong Kong could not be higher. It is an engine of economic growth in southern China and its "one country, two systems" model is supposed to entice Taiwan into reunification with the mainland. However, Hong Kong's political instability calls into question its future investment climate. And Beijing does not want residents of the SAR to evoke political changes at the grass roots because it sets a dangerous precedent for the rest of the country. But, the SAR does not appear to be giving anyone in Taiwan warm fuzzy feelings about Beijing as the island heads into its March 20 election. Peng and Tsang are probably now the two most important officials in Hong Kong and their movements should be watched carefully. It will be up to them to cut a deal that both Beijing's and Hong Kong's political activists can live with. _______________________________________________ Sndbox mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://a8.mewebdns-a8.com/mailman/listinfo/sndbox_sandboxmail.net
