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April 7, 2005
Only the Stupidity Is Clear
It's official: the words on the Basic Law are not enough for the Hong Kong government, so it's asking mommy to explain what exactly should be term length of the next CE.
My position on this is one of acceptance, albeit reluctant: there's no way that the term length is not two years, now that the full forces of the mainland government are pushing for it. Nor do I really mind: the question of actually how long has never been one that I felt should go one way or another. For example, Xiao Ruo-Yuan has made some arguments for a two-year term. The thing that is pissing people off, though, is the hodgepodge manner in which everything is taking place. As I've stated previously and agreed by the democratic camp, the centre amending the Basic Law would make things a lot clearer. While I disagree with the democrats in that I believe that there is ambiguity in the Basic Law: the problem is that this is an ambiguity because of a lack of specificity, not an inherent contradiction, and for the centre to “re-interpret” text that really gives no answer to the question is farcical.
I think what really showcases the ridiculousness of this entire exercise is the gall by which the Hong Kong government appears to just assume that the centre will decide in favour of a two-year term. While I doubt that it'll go any other way, for the government to maintain the need to re-interpret based on the legal ambiguity, and then ram forward as planned the changes necessary to realize the two-year term, is just a wee bit too rich.
Most people in Hong Kong are actually accepting what's happening. I think it's really more for the sake of consensus, although I, too, think that legal challenges on the term length question are not beneficial and a waste of everyone's time and resources. But for the long-term economic future and international reputation of Hong Kong, the centre could've done things a lot differently and face an even more receptive response, both locally and abroad.
Posted by Kelvin at April 7, 2005 10:39 PM
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