This photo dated Nov 12, 2020 shows a corner inside the Legislative Council building, Hong Kong. (CALVIN NG/CHINA DAILY)
Officials from the central and special administrative region governments on Wednesday strongly refuted the unfounded allegations against Hong Kong’s upcoming Legislative Council election under an improved electoral system, urging foreign forces to stop smearing, disrupting and sabotaging the city’s democratic development.
Their remarks came after the United Kingdom released on Tuesday its so-called “Six-monthly report on Hong Kong: January to June 2021”.
In a meeting with 11 local media outlets, Pan Yundong, deputy commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said the election, to be held on Sunday, is entirely an internal affair of China’s.
“We urge relevant parties to stop slandering Hong Kong’s democratic development, and stop interfering with and sabotaging the election,” Pan said.
We urge relevant parties to stop slandering Hong Kong’s democratic development, and stop interfering with and sabotaging the election.
Pan Yundong, deputy commissioner of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR
Pan said the election is an important event that marks the city’s transition from chaos to good governance and prosperity. He stressed that the criteria for a good democracy rely on the system’s conformation to Hong Kong’s actual situation and its contribution to the city’s long-term stability and prosperity.
The implementation of the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” is to ensure a balanced and broad political participation, as well as improve the efficiency of governance, Pan said.
The central government fully supports Hong Kong’s developing a democratic system that is in line with the city’s actual needs, he added.
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In response to the UK’s report, a spokesperson of the Hong Kong SAR government on Tuesday urged the UK to respect the international law and basic norms governing international relations, and to stop interfering in the internal affairs of China through the SAR’s affairs.
“We strongly oppose the report’s unfounded allegations against the improvement to the electoral system,” said the spokesperson, adding that the Hong Kong SAR is an inalienable part of China.
Calling the electoral revamp a “timely and necessary” move, the spokesperson said that the upcoming LegCo election has four characteristics; namely, broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation, and fair competition.
Based on the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”, candidates of the new-term LegCo come from different backgrounds and across the political spectrum, which showcases the broad representation and political inclusiveness of the improved electoral system, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson pointed out that the LegCo election ensures balanced participation through balancing the overall interests of various sectors.
The healthy competition between candidates of this election also reflects the fairness and competitiveness of the new electoral system, the spokesperson added.
“The HKSAR government is committed to ensuring that public elections will be conducted in a fair, open and honest manner,” he said.
Also at Tuesday’s media briefing, Pan gave a comprehensive review of China’s democratic system, and criticized the United States for forcing its mode of democracy on other countries.
Pan also cited a report on the US democracy, released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Dec 5, that said the facts have proved that US democracy has increasingly deviated from the core value and the original intention of the democratic-system design, leading to armed conflicts and humanistic problems in many regions.
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“The US needs to reflect on why its domestic democracy is in trouble, as well as the turbulence and conflicts it has brought to the world by imposing its own model of democracy in other countries,” Pan said.
The review came after the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China released on Dec 4 a white paper on the nation’s democracy, followed by the ministry’s report on US democracy.
Pan said the whole-process people’s democracy adopted by China is a true democracy that works, adding that it is a model of socialist democracy that covers all aspects of the democratic process and all sectors of the society.
Pan said that China’s democracy not only suits its national needs, but also enriches the form of human political civilizations, bringing opportunities and hopes to all countries in the world.
China’s adhering to its own democratic development is an important force in promoting the democratization of international relations and facilitating the exchange and mutual learning of diverse civilizations, Pan said.
gangwen@chinadaily.com.cn