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Hong Kong's Pro-Democracy Camp Makes Slight Election Gains


Hong-Kong-people.jpgBe thankful, America's Nov. 6 presidential election won't turn out to resemble Hong Kong's legislative election held last Sunday, Sept. 9.

Hong Kong voters went to the polls in greater numbers than ever, after days of political drama in which students on hunger strike forced the government to drop an unpopular education policy extolling the merits of mainland China.

Three issues topped voters' concerns:  the rising cost of buying a home, resentment towards mainland Chinese arrivals in the city, and a policy known as national education.

This last brought tens of thousands of people, led by the school activist group Scholarism, to the government headquarters each night for the last two weeks. Posters read "Love is learned", with the first letter of learned crossed out. Drawings of a brain held in two hands were labeled: "Do not wash - handle with care."

Residents have also been perturbed by a spate of corruption cases, widening inequality and the growing influx of wealthy mainland Chinese, whom they blame for driving up prices by buying up luxury goods and apartments.

Following the protests, many observers expected voters to heavily support pro-democracy candidates in the elections. But despite a strong voter turnout, it still wasn't enough.

The Legislative Council election was supposed to have been a make or break event for pro-democratic residents voting against the Beijing-controlled legislature. The pro-democracy camp came close but they didn't win the symbolic cigar.

Beijing has pledged to allow Hong Kong's residents to choose their leader by 2017 and all lawmakers by 2020, but no roadmap has been laid out. Lawmakers elected in Sunday's polls will help shape the arrangements for those future elections.

Voters were choosing 35 representatives, while 35 others are chosen by business and special interest groups. It's the first time the public is selecting more than half the seats. In previous contests, it was evenly split, but 10 new seats have been added this time. They include five so-called "super seats" that about 3.2 million registered voters can choose.

Voice of America reports some votes are still being tallied a week after the election. But what is clear is that pro-democracy candidates didn't do as well as they had hoped for, but they still won 18 of the 35 legislative seats directly elected by voters in Hong Kong's geographical constituencies.

Separating the players in Hong Kong's legislature is complex. Although the elections are for 70 seats in the legislative council, the legislative rules ensure a pro-government majority.

Hong Kong, a former British colony under mainland Chinese sovereignty since 1997, is guaranteed freedom of speech and assembly but can only vote directly for just over half the seats available in the council.

Hardly a surprise then, that 16 of the remaining seats went to pro-Beijing and pro-business candidates allied to Hong Kong's government, and one went to an independent.

Turnout in the geographic constituencies was 53 percent, or 1.8 million voters, up sharply from 45 percent in the last election in 2008.

Re-elected pro-democracy lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan described the results as "very disappointing." He had hoped his party could have won a greater number of seats.  Hong Kong Democratic Party Chairman Albert Ho resigned immediately following the election after taking responsibility for his party's poor showing.

Still, the pro-democracy camp's 18 won seats was enough to veto amendments to the territory's Basic Law.

China Digital Times reported the main reason pro-democracy forces didn't score a larger win was due to their flawed voting strategy. The pro-democracy candidates competed for seats in multiple party lists that reflected divisions within the movement, resulting in a splitting of pro-democracy votes that helped pro-establishment candidates to win.

The pro-democracy forces, however, did make some headway on the real estate front. Here is what happened:

Hong Kong's chief executive, CY Leung, canceled a planned visit to Vladivostok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit, and announced that two future apartment buildings would be reserved for Hong Kong rather than mainland buyers. Some believe mainland property speculation is to blame for high Hong Kong property prices.

Leung also delayed a plan to allow more than four million mainlanders in nearby  Shenzhen to apply for visas to visit Hong Kong.  Good news for Hong Kongers.. And a day before the legislative election, he buckled on national education. More good news for Hong Kongers.

Analysts described Leung's actions as the rise of identity politics. Analysts like to point out Hong Kong citizens are different from their mainland neighbors and want to stay that way. The slogan of one of the leading pro-democracy political parties, the Civic party, was "Say no to a red Hong Kong".

With the older Democratic party, the Labor party and the more radical People Power, Civic's main goal is universal suffrage in Hong Kong. Their better financed opponents, and the natural allies of Beijing, are the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) and the Federation of Trade Unions.

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