As China moves to neutralize Hong Kong’s pro-democracy opposition, it also gives the green light to a new political party that provides a window into how Beijing can change its territory in the years to come.
The Bauhinia Party, named after the flower of the Hong Kong flag, was founded last May by Western education entrepreneurs who were born on the continent and have ties to the Communist Party. Although still tiny, the group consulted with Hong Kong government officials, the Liaison Office – Beijing’s main body that oversees the city – and relevant offices in China, according to Charles Wong Chau-chi, one of the co-founders.
In an interview, Wong said that while the party never formally asked for an endorsement from these Chinese agencies, “we believe there is no reason why they would not want to endorse us.”
The party’s goal, he added, is to support people to run for office as chief executive, which will be up for grabs next year when Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s first term ends. One possibility is Li Shan, the party chairman, who is chief executive of Silk Road Finance Corp. Ltd., board member of Credit Suisse AG and a delegate to the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a Beijing advisory body. Li declined an interview request.
Wong said Li would be interested in becoming Hong Kong’s next leader only if he was “required and requested, not necessarily if he wanted to”. The Bauhinia Party, said Wong, is not ready to compete in the September Legislative Council elections, which were postponed for a year due to the pandemic.
The formation of the group at a time when China faces criticism in the West for curbing democracy advocates signals Beijing’s effort to refine a controlled version of electoral policy that gives the Communist Party the final veto power. Chinese officials last year passed a comprehensive national security law that has been used to restrict freedom of expression, while imposing a test of patriotism to disqualify pro-democracy legislators – a move that has led opposition members to the Legislative Council. to resign en masse in November.
‘Compete for Blessings’
The emergence of the Bauhinia Party points to a multi-party system that “competes for blessings and a show of loyalty and devotion to those in charge in Beijing,” he said Kenneth Chan, associate professor at Hong Kong Baptist University.
How China dominates who leads Hong Kong
Any move by Beijing to tighten its grip on Hong Kong further would be an initial test for US President Joe Biden, who has promised to support democracy advocates in the former British colony. A former Hong Kong leader still close to Beijing recently suggested that the next chief executive should be decided next year through consultations, rather than through a committee of 1,200 people. Either way, Beijing can veto any winner it doesn’t like.
The Bauhinia Party platform says its aim is to “respect ‘one country’, value ‘two systems’ and safeguard Hong Kong’s fundamental values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law”. However, while this sounds in line with Hong Kong’s moderate pro-democracy camp, the group’s diagnosis of the territory’s problems mirrors that of Beijing.
The Bauhinia Party owes its name to the flower of the Hong Kong flag.
Photographer: Paul Yeung / Bloomberg
Wong said the roots of the 2019 riots “have nothing to do with China”, while pointing to factors such as expensive housing, poor local governance and opposition he said was “destroying the social fabric and leaving everyone with anger “The national security law, he added, was” timely to help stabilize Hong Kong “and had no impact on” one country, two systems “- the structure that guaranteed the territory’s autonomy for 50 years after Britain Brittany handed over the former colony in 1997.
Wong presented a series of policy proposals that, he said, would help boost Hong Kong’s economy in the coming decades: “One country, two systems” should be expanded for another 50 years. Young people must learn more about China, study Mandarin and work on the continent. Hong Kong should take advantage of the Great Bay, Beijing’s plan to link the territory to Macau and neighboring Shenzhen, where it lives Huawei Technologies Co. And the city must implement a proposal for universal suffrage endorsed by Beijing.
Perhaps the most difficult problem, said Wong, is expensive housing. High property prices were affecting everyone, he said, increasing the cost of living and making Hong Kong “less and less competitive”. The party’s platform calls for “bold solutions”, including land reclamation and waterfront, re-zoning of agricultural land, co-development of land with cities near Shenzhen and Zhuhai and conversion of rural parks that now constitute about 40% of the total area of Hong Kong.
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“Land supply is not a problem,” said Wong. The challenge, he added, was to find “a common denominator that is shared by everyone to really carry out their housing program”.
While it is unclear whether the Bauhinia party can gain much strength, Beijing’s current friendly groups in Hong Kong have ruled out their chances of winning the elections. “The business community will not invest its resources in new parties without political influence and with little prospect of gaining seats at LegCo or at the district level,” said Regina Ip, a pro-establishment legislator.
Wong said the party plans to have up to 250,000 members. He added that the party’s communication with the Chinese government was likely to be “quite fluid”, although he said it was “silly” for critics to say he had Beijing’s support.
“Many people try to define us whether or not we are from China,” said Wong. “I think they really missed the point. We must check whether we are in favor of Hong Kong or not. And China is there to help, but there are bottom lines, there are red lines. “